7 Reasons you need a Little Free Library (Plus 3 things to get you started!)

I don't know what it is about books, but I just L O V E them.  I will even admit that I love them (shopping for them, looking at them, holding them, storing them, decorating with them, owning them) even more than I love reading them. So stupid and lazy of me..moving on.

So about a year ago, a mama friend of mine introduced me to what is called a Little Free Library, and you guys....I need to convert EVERYONE!

A Little Free Library (or you can really call it whatever you want) is a little, outdoor, open-to-the-public bird house type of tiny-ish, weatherproof building where you put books you are willing to let go of and share with the community.  Then people stop by, and can take any book they want (and keep if they want), and other people (or the same people) BRING books that they are willing to share with the community as well.  So, there is ideally a constant flow of books coming in and going out. Very succinctly, the official tagline of the "official" Little Free Library  is "Take a book, Leave a book."

We built one for our front lawn last spring and you guys, it has been so much fun!!!  So here are my 7 reasons YOU need to start your own Little Free Library, along with some photos to spark some ideas!

1. It is a place you can "donate" books you no longer want -- Spring Cleaning is around the corner!

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2. It's a place to share doubles of books that you received as gifts, etc.

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(I just love LFL's that are tiny replicas of the home behind it!)

3. It's a place to find new books or maybe even old books you've always wanted to read - and they are free!

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4.. It's an awesome neighborhood community builder.  It spreads neighborhood pride, good will, and promotes an atmosphere of community awareness and sharing.  Generosity is a contagious thing...and I want THAT going around my neighborhood.

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A few weeks after we had ours up, I met a neighbor and after I explained where I lived she said "Oh! You are the one with the little library!! I posted a picture of it on Facebook and EVERYONE kept commenting on how they wished they had one in their neighborhood!!"

5. It's a cool way to meet people in your neighborhood - especially families with young kids (if you have kids, this is Very Good Information)! Seriously, we have now met almost everyone in our neighborhood because they stop by the little library with their kids (and we spend a good amount of time on our front lawn), or at neighborhood potlucks and things we are always introduced by others as "the ones with the cute little library in their front yard."  People then remember us, stop by to check it out and say hi!

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Numerous older couples have even stopped by to make sure to thank us for adding something so nice to the hood. I feel like I have gained so much more than I have put into this!

6. It teaches not only us adults, but our KIDS about sharing, community involvement, and a love for books. I can't wait to take Mia and my future kids on regular library outings, but wouldn't it also be so cool to have a mini library you can stop by within walking distance to your house - or in your front lawn??!!

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The answer is yes.  Most days when we head out to the front lawn with some toys and a blanket, Mia wants to go grab a few books from the library, which usually has a a few new ones inside.  How fun is that!?

And when she gets older, she'll learn to understand that the books, even though they are in our front lawn, aren't "our" books but for the community to share.  What a cool teaching tool, right?

7. I have not spoken to anyone who knows anything about property valuation, but in my humble opinion, I honestly think that having a Little Free Library "anywhere" in one's neighborhood ups the property value for the entire hood.

Think about it.  If you are in the market for a house, and two blocks down from a house that is for sale there is a Little Free Library - what does that tell you about the people in that neighborhood?  To me, it says : "we are generous, we are trustworthy, we are community oriented, and you will love living here!"

What could be a better way to Build, Grow, and Show a community spirit than a Little Free Library?!

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OK, so now you want one, don't you.  I know you do. Here are a few things to know, and the only 3 things you need to get started!

Good to know: 
--"Little Free Library" is a trademarked name that denotes one such library that is a part of the official LFL Network.  Being a member of this network is a $30 one-time fee, and comes with an official wooden sign you can attach to the library, as well as puts your LFL on a nationwide map.  There are also tips, brochures you can put in the library, a shop you can purchase a library from if you don't want to make your own, and a few other things that help you get started, however...

--You absolutely do not need to be a part of this network to start your own library.  You can call it whatever you want, make your own sign, etc etc.  I personally joined the network to have the sign and be on the map because I wanted to "donate" to the nonprofit that helps promote these, and I thought that was super fun and worth it to me to have the sign and be on the map, but again...absolutely Not Necessary.

--One of the things that the LFL network really stresses is that to have one such Library on your property, the idea of stewardship is really important.  Now, whether or not you join this network, I still think it is worth mentioning.

They emphasize that the owners of the library are really the Steward of the library, taking care of any needed upkeep, maybe keeping it looking nice, filled with books if it gets low, obviously providing the initial materials, etc., but it is not "their" library where others borrow books "from them."  In other words, it is the Neighborhood's Library, and the "owner" has volunteered to take care of it for everyone.

I think this is such a cool concept as well, one that I think casts a super generous and positive spirit over the whole thing, and encourages others to have a little tiny bit of ownership in it as well. Again...promoting that community spirit.

SO - here are the 3 things you need!!

Our LFL just after my dad built it, before I painted it.

That's my sister, Little Mia, and my two nieces!

1. A weatherproof, especially waterproof, box.  Most LFL's have a glass door on the front so the books can be seen.  I LOVE looking at the Little Free Library Instagram feed and #littlefreelibrary IG hashtag...especially when I was trying to design ours, but even still - they are so creative and make me so happy to see!

My dad built ours from a bunch of scrap wood, very few pieces he needed to purchase, and a picture frame for the front door!

2. Books! When we first built the library, besides adding a few books I already owned and didn't need anymore, I went down to a local thrift store and bought about $5 worth of books on a 50% off day - which was about 30 books!  I started by filling it with kids books, and now it is about 50-50 kids and adult books.

3. A sign that explains how it works.  This is super important, as even still, people ask me to explain how it works.  It just needs to be something that explains - "Please take a book to keep or borrow, and/or leave a book you would like donate" (making sure they understand they may never see this book again).

I have even considered adding a little chalk board paint to the top front of the library to explain a little more, because even the LFL Netowork's sign that says "Take a book, Leave a book" still leaves people not quite sure.  Or maybe it just needs to be in bigger letters...I'm still experimenting.

And that's it!!  This post was *not* sponsored at all....I just really love the idea of the Little Free Library and think that every neighborhood needs one.  :)

Check out the Little Free Library website for more cool photos, ideas and resources!!

And head over to the rest of the 7 Quick Takes Party at This Ain't the Lyceum!!

Mia's Baptism, and an epic family vacation all in one 7QT!

Wow, where does the time fly?  I'll give you the low-down on big happenings lately, while I will also be linking up with Jen over at Conversion Diary.  

A little bit late never hurt anyone.

1. 
Speaking of which, Jen just released her awesome book Something Other Than God.  I have the Kindle version on my phone, and even though I promised myself that I had to finish another book I have started (months ago) before starting Jen's book, I couldn't resist and have been sneaking in a few pages all day.  (Sneaking from who? Who knows.)  

She also has a bunch of contests including who can come up with the best drink called "The SOTG."  I am really considering entering this one...my brain has been formulating ideas for the past 24 hours and I might be on to something.  Or maybe it's a sign I just really need a drink.  Either way.

2. 
So last week my parents, sister, and brother's family came into town!!  We are usually all in one room only when we come to SD, and recently that has been mainly just for the past few Christmases.  It meant the world that they came out to celebrate Mia's baptism, and it was also so nice for my brother's family to see where we live!

3.  
Whenever my parents are in town, I always come up with a list of things I need help with from both of them.  From my mom I need things like, how do I clean this certain un-clean-able thing? And from my dad, it usually involves a trip to Home Depot and/or electrician lessons for Joel (farmers know everything, you know?)  Anyway, one of the things I asked my dad to help with was to "stabilize" the Little Free Library my neighbor generously made for us.  Here is a before picture.

As you can see, it did look like it needed a little work.  When my dad said he could add a few nice touches, I let him have free reign to the project to make any improvements he wanted.  Well, a day later he came up with this almost-finished product (I still need to paint it):

Doesn't it look awesome!!??  You can't really see the roof in the picture, but it is epic.  Wooden shingles and everything.  And in the picture is Mia, my sister Maddy, and my two nieces Sadie and Kynslie.  

I can't wait to paint it-- any suggestions on paint colors???  I'm all ears!  


4. 
I should have maybe mentioned this above, but my sister completely surprised us in coming!!  It was so awesome to have her there, it just made the entire trip complete.  What a little sneaky snake she is.  And props to my mom for keeping the secret!  She's a pretty honest / no poker face kinda lady.


5. 
On Saturday we all went to the Zoo.  The weather decided to take about a 15 degree dip and was aMAZE-ing, and we spent the entire afternoon there.  The girls rode a camel, and we saw my favorite - the giraffes.  Are not giraffes the coolest animals ever?  Anyway, here is a family picture - probably the best one we've ever taken, minus Joel trying to help Mia with her water bottle.

All I wanna know is, when did my sister become the prettiest in the family?

6. 
Sunday morning was the Baptism.  Here's a close-up of Mia in her little dress..

(I also made a little white bow headband to go with..so cute!)

I found the dress from an Etsy shop that sells handmade items called Simply White Designs.  The owner was so nice, answered a ton of questions for me before I purchased, and the dress was perfect and beautifully simple in my opinion.


7.  
My brother Andy and sister-in-law Lyndsey were the Godparents, and the baptism was during the regular Mass, right after the homily, which is a little different than normal but I loved that so many people were there to witness and be a part of her baptism.  

I just think it is so beautiful and inspiring to me when I see other baptisms during Mass. It's such a welcoming feeling into the greater church community, and reminds the entire church (in my opinion) of the new little souls entering the church, the need to pray for them, and the responsibility we all have to be a good witness to our faith and to build community. Now I'll get off that soap box and cue a photo :)

  
After the baptism we had a great little get-together for lunch with some friends, and the day flew by and off my family went back home Monday morning. It was such a whirlwind of a trip but it was so, so good.  The weather was even better than expected, the Zoo was great, I beat my niece Sadie at Memory, (she could go Pro if she wanted), and Mia got to spend some really fun play time with her cousins, aunts and uncle and grandparents.

It was so, so good.

7 Quick Takes: Life Update

Well, I decided to take a bit of a break..apparently.  But I'm back! To clear my head and try to cover the past month (or so), I decided to do some quick-ish takes.  {Linking up with Jen!}

1. 

Maggie's Place Christmas.  What can I say?  It was like every other year...crazy..awesome..ness.  Every year Maggie's Place provides gifts for all of the moms that have ever lived with us, and their families!  The last count I heard about a week before Christmas was around 480 people we were providing gifts for. 

Awesome, I know!

We spend the two weeks before our big party literally living the elf life...gathering gifts, sorting, distributing, wrapping, etc. etc.  It is so fun, so much work, and so worth it!

Here's Mia helping me wrap some gifts..

As my mom used to tell my sister when she was a messy, unhelpful toddler.."Just sit there and watch me...watching is helping!"

2. 
We flew to South Dakota to visit family, and it was an awesome trip!!  We got so much QT in with my family, the 8 days went by way too fast.

My favorite part of the trip was when my dad and Joel built a snowman for Mia.  It was such a beautiful day, and Mia loved the snow!  Here's my little snow angel:

And the Snowman himself:

She loves her Papa Joe -

And her Grandma Kathy. And of course - she LOVES her cousins!!  I see lots of girly play-time with these two in her future.

3. Mia has been waking up one extra time per night for the past 5 weeks, and I am so excited that it *seems* like this habit is on it's way out.  We tried numerous things, but in the end it seems like it was one of those milestone-stage-cusp things.  Becaauussee..

4. She has cut her first two teeth (the first one came on Christmas day!), and..

5. This week she reached two milestones: crawling AND pulling herself up to stand!  These are super exciting!  And of course mama must record every second of her life, even if it's grainy bedtime quality...

Go Mia!

6.  So three weeks ago I came back to Maggie's Place full-time. This has been both really great in many regards, and really hard.  I am so excited to be able to focus on my current projects at work and spend so much more time with my co-workers and friends!  But of course it comes at a cost...full-time daycare and less Mia time :( .  

Luckily I found a wonderful friend-of-a-friend who was willing to take Mia into her home with her 18-month old.  And I must say, Mia loves it so much!  She loves Zac, her new bff, and is such a social, happy kid, it hasn't effected her at all as far as I can tell.  

7. But, if going back to work full-time wasn't a big enough change, I decided to pull another 180 and put in my "3-month's notice." This means I plan on leaving my job at Maggie's Place at the end of March. (!!)

You're getting whip-lash, I know.  Back full-time, then leaving for good...uughhh it is all tugging at my heart strings in so many directions.  As most decisions like this, it is and will be bittersweet.

I don't have any major plans as for what I'll do next, but my brain has been going for about.... OH the past 4 years, on "what I want to do when I grow up" and all that.  I am sure I'll try a few things, fail at a few things, and learn a lot along the way.

So we'll see!  There's a lot to get done in the coming months, and that means I will be doing a little less blogging, but I promise to check in when I can, and of course will be updating my Instagram more frequently with random Mia happenings.

So Happy Friday everyone!  And as a full-time working mom, I can whole-heartedly say - Thank Goodness It's Friday!

Mia's Birth Story

Alright kids, get some popcorn and settle in.  31 hours post broken water, and almost zero sleep for 48, Mia finally came. Here's how it went down.

Wednesday, May 8^th

Today my “bloody show” (if you will) started coming out ever so slowly.  

I didn’t tell Joel till the end of the day.  I knew it might not mean anything…I knew this could last days or weeks.  We were 17 days from my due date.   The majority of first time births come 8 days past the due date, my natural childbirth instructor taught us.  We were mentally prepared for, and expecting to go 26 more days.

Thursday, May 9^th

I woke up feeling a little weird.  I took a shower, and in a split second I saw the entire rest of my “show” come out and go down the drain.  Later I sat at my breakfast bar stool watching Joel make his breakfast, told him what I just saw, and that I felt weird. 

I went to work like normal, but still feeling this weirdness (I really can’t think of another way to put it), I also felt a surge of focus and adrenaline.  I decided to knock off everything on my pre-baby to-do list today – something I planned on taking at least another week. I worked harder and more focused than I think I ever have ...“work nesting” we’ll call it.  As I finished up for the day, I even wiped down and dusted my desk area and completely de-cluttered – something I only do on non-busy Fridays or before a big vacation.

I came home and got about 50 more things done, including reading the entire car seat manual and installing it – for the first time.  I left it in the car, and Joel and I joked that driving around with an empty car seat would be “like practice.”

Joel got to bed at 10, and I stayed up trying to come off of my adrenaline rush.  I finally felt tired around 11:30 and got into bed.  While I’m trying to fall asleep I felt some light cramps.  All the sudden I feel a sharp pain at what feels like my cervix (I have no idea).  I winced out loud and Joel woke up and whispers, “what?”  I say “nothing.”  Twenty seconds later I feel a gush of fluid, that scene my birth instructor said “only happens in movies.”  I got up from bed and tried to walk the 8 steps to the bathroom with my knees together (as successfully as you can imagine) and started saying “shit” over and over.  By this time Joel has sat up and says impatiently “What!” 

“Well, my water broke.”

And all of the sudden, we have Zero idea what to do.  Our class’s “scenario generator” had little to say about the rare water-breaking-before-labor-beginning situation.  Again…only in movies does this happen, they say.

We couldn’t figure out- does this mean we go straight to the hospital?  Or do we wait it out here?  What the heck do we do?

Friday, May 10^th

We called our Doula at midnight, who happened to be at another birth.  The Luck! She told us to stick around home and get some rest for as long as possible.  So that is what we did….not do.

I went to sit on a pile of towels on our recliner, to save our Westin Heavenly from any more fluids.  Which, by the way, kept coming out. And out. And out. This, I did not expect nor did I read ANYWhere, thankyouverymuch every “The Top 10 Things Nobody Tells You About Childbirth” blog posts / childbirth class / the internet.

I tried to fall asleep but of course couldn’t.  Contractions were coming every 7-25 minutes…very irregular, and what I know now by comparison to be “mildly” painful.  I urged Joel – who has, like, a black belt in falling asleep, to get as much sleep as he can (after a pre-emptive Gatorade run to the apparently  “sketchy-ass” 7-11). 

He went into the bedroom, and I emailed all my co-workers every tiny detail I could think of for all the things I had left hanging.   Twenty minutes later Joel came out with the baby name book.

“Should we pick out some middle names?” he asked.  “No sleep??” I asked.  Obviously not.

We did not know the baby’s sex, so we had 2 boy and 2 girl names picked out.  We had not, however, decided on any middle names just yet.  So, we went through the book and picked out a middle name for each of our 4 options while I ate ¾ box of dry Life Cereal from my chair.  At about this time I remember that the car seat is all ready to go and congratulate myself on some dang good timing.

Needless to say we got little sleep that night…Joel about 3 hours, myself about half that.

We called my OB at 6am.  He was not on call this weekend, but assured us that he’d be as present as possible.  He knows we want to go the natural route, and from what we could tell, he also knows that the OB on call would not be as “excited” about this birth plan.  Bless him.

He told us to come into the hospital at 10am.  We knew we wanted to wait as loooong as possible before going in, and after greeting neighbors on a walk around the hood, we went in around 11:30am. 

Our doula, after getting about 3 hours of sleep after attending a birth the night before, meets us in triage and we all “hang out” trying to get my labor to progress.  I make many lunging trips around triage, go up and down the stairs, and stop for breaks to watch the Mother’s Day edition of Ellen – how appropriate.  My contractions weren’t really doing anything different, which obviously nobody liked. 

 Here's us with our snacks in triage, and me not near real labor.

Four hours later a Labor and Delivery room finally opened up and we got to settle in.  We had a nurse there who was an angel from heaven – an L&D veteran who loved a good natural birth.  She encouraged everything to try to progress labor, and I mean “everything”, if you know what I mean.  “Surprisingly” I wasn’t in the mood, I told her. 

It was 6:30pm and my OB had been encouraging us to take some Pitocin to get labor to progress for the past 3 hours (progression at this point is imperative since my water broke and there was a risk for infection, which is dangerous for the baby).  We finally gave in after some delay tactics, (and after he came in to talk it through face-to-face to make sure we weren’t trying to be idiots by going “all natural” for the hell of it) and compromised on using less Pitocin, less often than standard procedure.

This is when labor really began.  We put Pandora on Ingrid Michaelson (after a failed Dave Matthews Band attempt) and got to work.  I do not remember one contraction where I didn’t have 4 hands touching my body…rubbing my back, arms, neck, hips, etc.  Joel and Laura – the doula- put in some work.  When they say natural childbirth is hard work, it is truly hard work for all involved.

I put some serious miles on that birth ball.

Saturday, May 11^th

Around 2am things started heating up more and Laura set up the bath for me and Joel to get in and try some bath laboring.  She set up fake candles to create a peaceful space and we got in, and all I could think about was how much this sucked. I could feel Joel behind me and I could tell he was getting incredibly uncomfortable in this warm tub.  He got out, and I get into a position facing the side, and Laura came and sat outside the tub rubbing my back while I labored some more.

At this point Joel came back and asked if it would be OK if he called somebody to come help for a bit…I can tell he is getting weary.  Of course, I said, and we make a short list of the people he will call until someone answers. 

My good friend Chariti came. It was 3am.  Joel put on some headphones (with my blessing!) and closed his eyes on the padded bench in our room and got a 30 minute rest.  I knew that the more rested he could be the better help he would be to me.  And, I could tell he was about to break.  I would have too, if I had the choice.  There was just no getting out of this for me.  Later he tells me that right before this point he was reciting our wedding vows in his head…he said he could really feel the “for better or worse” part… the duty and love required in marriage.

Chariti stayed for about 2 hours I think.  I remember her coming while I was still in the bath, and she was outside the bathroom chatting with the nurse about her weekend.  I remember feeling that weird “child-birth-zilla” moment and almost – almost – told her to stop talking because it was distracting and annoying me.  I remember thinking – yep – this is mid-to-late labor, when you can’t stand to hear somebody just “chit chat” in the other room.  I almost laughed but of course, did not.

I instead looked up at Laura and asked her how much longer this would take.  She said maybe about 3 hours, maybe more, and I LOST it.  “I cannot do this for that long” I whined to her like a child.  I started talking about getting an epidural and she told me that I can get one if I want.  I knew this was up to me…Joel came in and I told him the same, and he tells me the same – whatever I want. 

What I really want is for somebody to come and give me a C-section and get this over with, I secretly thought.  I decided to just keep going.  I reminded myself of my reasons (better recovery, better start to breastfeeding, less chance of a c-section), which helped a little...but not much.

I moved to the bed and was there for about 2 hours in all positions…contractions on top of contractions, with no time to breathe and rest in between like I had been promised in all of my classes….thanks to the Pitocin, like I had been warned. 

During one particularly tough contraction I heard Joel’s phone ring.  He picked it up (while standing next to me holding a hand-held fan up to my face) and I could not believe my eyes.  I tell him with big wide “I mean it” eyes to “Get Off The Phone,” using the nicest “I’m in labor so do what I tell you” tone I could muster.  He told me later that day that it was my dad on the phone, and everyone was worried since things were “taking so long.”  

I’ll forgive him this once.

The sun finally came up, and I felt like I needed to push.  I get the go-ahead and I must tell you that even at this very moment, I did not think the baby would come out of my body.  I was so beat down, and so exhausted, with my legs shaking and my husband feeding me water and honey from those tiny straws on demand, and me begging that his small hand-held fan never leave my face, I really believed that this would go on forever…this horrible, horrible Pitocin induced labor. 

I finally feel hope when the nurses come in and prepare for a birth without the OB.  Maybe, just maybe, this would finally stop.

Then all of the sudden, my OB comes in – wearing a ball cap, running shoes and workout clothes.  He says that he can be here for the next 20 minutes, but then has to go meet his daughter for a 5K race they are doing together downtown.

He slipped on booties over his shoes, and sat down in front of me (I am on my back – the one position I swore I would not be in to give birth) and I immediately begged him to make sure I don’t tear (after all this, I still ask..I know).  His assistant starts dripping oil on me like she's sprinkling fairy dust, and my doctor impatiently takes the oil from her hand and dumps the entire contents on me.

I finally understand how women who have given birth lose all sense of shame.    

I push through 2 contractions, and the baby is finally here, placed on top of me immediately.  7:23am.  At this point I cannot believe my eyes, so relieved that this is finally over. 

After about 30 seconds of me repeating “oh my gosh” Joel finally interjects and asks – “so – what is it??”  All of the doctors and nurses erupt in a chorus of “I didn’t see it, did you?”  Dr. Chavira finally picks up the baby and announces – “It’s a girl!”

It’s a girl.  What I secretly wanted and will only admit this now to you, on the internet.

Yes that is a D.A.R.E.shirt on my husband. And no, we did not plan that to coincide with a "drug-free" birth.

Dr. Chavira tells me I didn’t need any stiches and I am relieved (and thank my 6lb baby girl).  He came over to me, we said a Hail Mary and our good byes, and he headed out the door to the 5K.  His ball cap was on his head the entire time.

For the next few minutes the baby and I worked on breastfeeding and staying warm, and Joel finally looked over at me and says-slash-asks “She looks like a Mia (?)” and I instantly concur.

One thing I was surprised about was that I didn’t cry when  I first saw her (I'm sort of a crier).  I think I was too “shell-shocked.”  Later that day Joel and I have a moment alone with our sleeping Mia, and I bury my head in his chest and say behind tears “That. Was so. Traumatic.”  I really, at this moment, thought it was the hardest, most traumatic experience of my life…something I couldn’t possibly do again.

Looking back on it now, and hearing many other birth stories since, I realize it was par for the course when it comes to natural births.  And after meeting with our class participants and all their new babies, I learned that we were only 2 out of 5 that actually went natural like planned.  Childbirth is crazy!

Since that day I have felt the “trauma” less and less.  And I will do it again.  Yes! Let’s do it again. Maybe… with an epidural next time :)

Mia -  1 day old, on Mother's Day

Five Faves Vol. 1

Linking up with Hallie over at MoxieWife!

1.  Dove's dry shampoo.

For thin-ish hair people like me, and a new mom to boot (who says 'to boot?') dry shampoo is a must!  Plus, I reaaally like the smell of Dove's and actually, so does my husband.  Every single time I wear it he sniffs me and says - "mm, you smell good."  

{Thanks! It's my dry shampoo signaling the fact that I haven't showered in 2 days and my hair is greasy.}

Aw, thanks babe!

2. This little awesome idea called Little Free Library. Basically, you put up a cute little book storage birdhouse type thing and people in your neighborhood/community are welcome to swap books ("take a book, leave a book").  Check out this map if you want to find a registered one near you!

I just l-o-v-e this idea. What a cool way to build community, share resources, read some books you may otherwise have never found, make reading extra fun with our little kiddos, etc. etc. etc. I know in my neighborhood there are plenty of families with little kids.  If I can convince my husband, I am totally going to turn myself into el steward of the Little Free Library Wrigley Terrace edition.  (PS. It doesn't need to be just for little kids!)  

Papa Joe, it's time to build us a Lil Library!

3. Speaking of Papa Joe (aka. my dad), he also makes the list for his super awesome article published in The Bishop's Bulletin from the Diocese of Sioux Falls, SD.  He is studying to become a Deacon and spent 3 months visiting men and women in jail.  His article is a gem of a quick read and can be found on page 12 if you're interested!

4.  The TV show Scandal.

Oh, my, goodness I am so excited Netflix just released the second season!  We watched the first season right after we brought Mia home and were experiencing a lot of couch time, and I have gone back and forth whether or not to just purchase the rest of the episodes on amazon or something like a crazy impatient person would do.  I am SO excited (if you can't tell) that Netflix just gifted me with 12 more episodes of viewing pleasure.


5.  These tall, wide mouth Ball jars I found at Target yesterday.  They sell for about a buck a piece, and are perfect for storing cold-coffee-to-have-iced-coffee-tomorrow since it's apparently still 110 degrees here.  I love that the wide mouth makes it more like a drinking glass.  I just love these jars in general.

Happy Wednesday!

Rap and I'm Back

My dad was in town a few weeks ago and after driving in my car a few times he asked me, "Um, do you listen to rap?"  (my dad doesn't say the word 'um' but that's how it sounded in my head.)

This is him hanging with Mia back in the day (i.e. 2 months ago)

I said sheepishly, "Well....sometimes, yes."

So there it is.  I do.  Sorry dad!
Not that that's all I listen to of course, by a long shot.  I prefer Mumford over almost anything most times. But a dose of some hip hop and rap every once-in-a-while for my workout or jammin in the car does a mama right.

The other day I was listening to my FAVE song on Macklemore's new album.  (this guy shops at thrift stores, raps about being clean and gives Reaganomics and Malcolm Gladwell shout-outs.  Who doesn't like that in their rappers?) Anyway, I have heard the song many times before, and have even thought extra about this lyric a few times, but this time it finally got to me.  In the second line he says,

"Don't die holdin' on to your words."

This line has been taunting me for long enough! I thought.  It's time to get that blog back up.  So here we are...I have a lot of words in my head and it's time to get them out.  As you can probably see on this site, I blogged a few years ago and decided to include it here.  Check that out if you're interested below, or start fresh.  We'll be celebrating all things healthy, happy and for the home.

Yep, that could mean just about anything.

Now go enjoy a great song!
(disclosure: this song is mostly clean)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV5aNqe2cCI

The Universal To-Do List

So this weekend is also a big weekend for another member of my family, my baby sister Maddy!  She is a super studd on her high school varsity volleyball team in South Dakota, and they are at the SD State Championship Tournament right now!!!!!!  So apparently our family is pretty cool right now.  Special THANKS to our parents for being the best supporters a kid could ask for!  My dad will be in SD cheering the girls on, and my mom and 2 friends are flying out to support me!  What a blessing this truly is.

The best part:  When two sisters have a Big Weekend, apparently only ONE packing list is needed to cover any situation.  So, thanks to Maddy for making a very detailed packing list for her volleyball tourney, and also thanks for leaving it out for Dad to steal and scan to ME!  This is basically everything I'll need for my pageant weekend.  Just change "nice shirt" to my Evening Gown, and those "kakie pants" (maddy..Kakie??) to my Interview Dress,  and the "spandex" to my Swimsuit, and we're all set.  I may or may not leave the head bands at home.  Oh ya, and mom when you come can you just bring the money?  Great...thanks!

GO PANTHERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!