Recent Matt Projects

Just in case you have not been over to Matt's blog recently, here are a few of the projects he's been up to:
http://fpphoto.blogspot.com/2011/06/recent-intervarsity-photo-projects.html

Confession

I saw a commercial the other day announcing that Magnum Ice Cream Bars are now available here in the US...and yes, I went straight out and bought some. And wow, they are everything I remembered them to be...plus it was 90 degree's that week and they just looked sooooo good.

The last time I had one of these ice cream bars was in Europe...and they are soooo yummy. They are a bit expensive, but it was a fun indulgence.If you've never had one, it's worth the $3.50 for a box of 3.

Garden Update

It's been about a month and I'm already slightly frustrated with the growing season. And I think my plants are too. I was able to plant many of the cold weather crops like spinach, bok choy and peas...however they've gone straight to seed in almost three weeks. The weather keeps switching between 50 degrees and 90 degrees within a few days of each other, so I think these spring crops don't know what to think.

However the beans, tomatoes and squash are growing like crazy. So I think it might just be a warm weather crop summer this year. Which will be nice. I think the past few years it's hasn't gotten warm enough for the tomatoes to be super happy. So I might just have to give up hopes for spring spinach and peas and start hoping for some great tomatoes. The one nice thing is that not only do the plants not know what to do, but the bugs don't either. I don't think I've seen nearly as many of my plants nibbled on this year. That's been kind of nice.

Headband Update

I got a chance to try those headbands I noticed last week and they turned out ok. I tried two different versions and here's the report:

The Wide Headband (http://www.alteredcloth.com/blog/2007/07/how-to-make-a-headband-version-2-the-wide-headband.php) - this was the more complicated one to make but I think turned out better. Or at least I like how it fits on my head better. This is the red and white one above. For the main part I did a 6 x 16 inch square. I think style and stitching of this one looked closest to what I saw in the store.

Reversible Headband (http://www.kcquilts.com/blog/2006/09/reversible-fabric-headband-tutorial.html): I also tried this version of the headband. The blue and pink ones above are this version. It turned out ok, but the lengths were a bit odd. I felt like I was either making it to large or to small for my head and I don't think they fit as well as the Wide Headband version.

So there you have it. A $20 headband for probably about $2 each.

Power of Money

Money easily can have a stronghold in our lives and I love how clearly that comes out in this video that Matt helped produce and edit this past month. I think Lendol makes some great points in this video on financial stewardship.
Dr Calder - Financial Sewardship from InterVarsity-twentyonehundred on Vimeo.

Headbands Galore

Fabric Elastic Headband

While in Milwaukee last weekend, we stopped in a few stores and I noticed quite a few really cute headbands. I really liked them but didn't want to pay the $20 bucks for one. So I left hoping I could maybe find a pattern online. I did! Several patterns actually:

Do it Yourself Headbands: http://www.alteredcloth.com/blog/2007/08/diy-headband-collection.php
Another step by step pattern: http://www.kcquilts.com/blog/2006/09/reversible-fabric-headband-tutorial.html

I think there's a stash of scrap fabric just screaming to become headbands. We'll see how it goes.

The Truth About Anniverseries

Anniversaries are supposed to be a celebration of love and romance, right? Well, after 5 years here's the breakdown:

Year One Plan: Go camping for the weekend and enjoy romantic campfires, starlight and long walks in the woods.
Year One Reality: Were welcomed to the campsite by tornado sirens, sat in a tent for 48 hours because of non-stop rain, dealt with mounting interpersonal fustrations, and embraced fun episodes of diarrhea.

Year Two Plan: Year one anniversary sucked. Let's just go out for lunch.
Year Two Reality: We went to lunch. I think I had a taco.

Year Three Plan: Lunch worked well. Let's just do that again.
Year Three Reality: Repeat Last Year

Year Four Plan: Camping on our anniversary really wasn't all that bad. Let's try that again.
Year Four Reality: Got chased by tornadoes again, sat in a restaurant for 6 hours waiting for the rain to end, got back to a tent with an inch of water in it, so gave up and went home.

Year Five Plan: Camping on our anniversary doesn't seem to work for us. Let's try going to a quite beautiful lakeside town called Port Washington.
Year Five Reality: Woke up and discovered a tick had made a home in my leg and kind of freaked out. We got that sorted out and then headed out to Port Washington. There we discovered the town was not as peaceful as we anticipated. It had been overrun by Pirates. (Which to be honest, was totally cool. It wasn't what we expected, but it was kind of fun seeing everyone dressed up and acting really goofy. And considering our track record with romantic anniversaries...seemed to fit right in).

So we don't have a track record for the most romantic anniversaries, but I wouldn't trade them for the world. As my husband was pulling the tick out of my leg, I couldn't help but laugh and think "this is true love". Learning to stick with each other through sickness, ticks, unexpected weather, soggy tents, and pirates may not be "romantic", but it's love. And I'd much rather take love.

As far as the pirates...they were pretty cool. Matt took some great pictures of them and posted them on his blog: http://fpphoto.blogspot.com/2011/06/port-of-pirates.html

5 Years and Counting

This past weekend marked five years of being married.

Some of the things I've learned about marriage so far is that 1) I'm a lot more selfish than I want to admit, 2) I'm still surprised at how much I don't know about my husband, and 3) marriage make life an adventure (another person in your life sure does add in more variables).

The best part still is that I love my husband and I'm looking forward to the next five years and more.

Now for our anniversary, we took a little trip over to the Milwaukee area. The trip didn't go exactly as planned...stay tuned for the full report on Wednesday.

InterVarsity Alumnus Helen Lee

While I didn't write this story, I really love what this InterVarsity alum has gone on to do. She's become a strong voice in encouraging mom's to see themselves as missional. Not only has she written a book on the topic, but she writes a lot of great stuff on her blog. I love how InterVarsity alums are making a difference in this world.

Article on Helen Lee: http://www.intervarsity.org/news/intervarsity-alumni-helen-lee
The Missional Mom Book: Book on Amazon
The Missional Mom Blog: http://themissionalmom.com/blog/