Intentional Generosity

I just finished reading someone’s thoughts that challenged me, and I wanted to share the challenge with you.

Remember back to the Old Testament when Moses shared God’s vision for the people of Israel.  God asked the people to do certain things that go completely against our culture today.  Now, there were many things that would fit that category, but I’m referring to practices that allowed for the poor and seemingly forgotten to be cared for.

For instance, when they harvested their fields, they were to leave the corners so that the poor, the widows, the foreigner, could come and get the crops for food for themselves.  While harvesting, if they dropped any, they were to leave it so there would be something for the poor to get.

Now, in today’s world, we talk about efficiency and productivity so much that we have figured how to get as much as we can out of whatever we are doing.  We make our money go as far as we can so that nothing is wasted.

There is talk about not giving money to those who ask because we don’t know what they’re going to do with it.  We may see the same man in the same three spots asking for the same thing with the same sign, and because we see him so much we don’t take his request seriously.  There is talk about not giving money to certain people because they are lazy and don’t get off their butts to get a job for themselves.

I get it.  I understand those arguments.  I believe in the principles behind the arguments that keep us from giving to these people.  I am with you on that.

But what if God was asking the people to do these things because it keeps the people of Israel from feeling entitled to money or land or food or clothes or whatever?  What if God was asking the people to think about others because it is what God did for us—hearing us in our sin and coming to our rescue through Jesus?  What if God was asking the people to give unconditionally because it would set both groups of people free?

But I don’t really do this.

I mean, we sponsor a child through Gospel for Asia, but we switched to this agency because it was cheaper than Compassion.  (There’s more to that story as well, because we didn’t just stop sponsoring one kid to go with the cheaper one.)  But there’s still that truth to it.  And I don’t even remember that we sponsor her because it just come right out of our account.  I’m not really even involved in it.

As far as other ways of carrying out this principle, I’m having a hard time of even stretching things to come close to fitting it.  I haven’t done anything in a while to do this.  Yes, I feel stirred to act on behalf of others, but I don’t always actually do anything.  Yes, I get excited about standing up for those who can’t or those who need assistance, but I lose the excitement and do other things once the novelty wears off.

So here’s my challenge: God asked the people of Israel to build into their lifestyle a way to care for the poor and oppressed.  I believe that God is still asking people to live in such a way that we take care of our ‘neighbor’, whether we know who we’re doing it for or not.

I want to live intentionally.  I like to do things on purpose.  Sure, I like routine and whatnot too, but why not set up some routines that help others?

What about you?  Are you doing something, even a small thing, to help stand up for someone or provide for someone in such a way?  Please share.  If you have ideas, whether you’ve started doing them or not, please share.

It can be as small as always buying fair trade coffee to make sure those farmers who grow it are paid and treated fairly.  It can be as big as sponsoring 10 kids through Compassion and getting to see each one once a year and writing to them once a week and having an active role in their lives.

So whatever it is for you, tell us.

-mister-

Value System

[I found myself thinking about this yesterday, and I wanted to share some thoughts.]

Does everything belong to you?  What makes you the owner of the things in your house, in your life?  Why is it so important to consider yourself the owner?  Is it to make us feel better about having something that someone else does not?  Or even to have the same type of thing that someone else has?

Where does our value as a human being come from?  Is it from having things?  Is it from where you work?  How much money you make?  Is it the type of work you’re in?  Or is it something else?

Does your value as a human come from what you look like?  What about the type of clothes you wear?  How you talk?  How refined your lifestyle is?

What if your value wasn’t based on any of those things?  Would it be easier?  Would there be less guilt for what we do or wear or think or conduct ourselves?  Would we treat others differently?

What if your value as a human was based on the fact that you are alive?!

That’s it.  You are alive, therefore you have value.

It doesn’t matter what your name is, if you can even spell your name, what language you speak, or how many, where you live, what country you’re from, what religion you practice, how many are in your family, what your job is, what you wear, how many possessions you have, or any of that stuff.

Your value is important because it shapes how you see yourself and others.

Now, shouldn’t it be that way?  I feel as if humans, in my culture and much of the ‘civilized and developed world’ have misplaced how to value life.  We’ve placed it on those lists, instead of letting it be because of the breath in our lungs.

I feel as if I could contemplate all of that for a long time, and I would have many years of working it out as I struggle to replace that value system with the one that has been force-fed to me by my culture.

Yet I bring this up because I was thinking about the upcoming election, and I was recalling a conversation I had the other day.

Where I live, many Christians tend to vote Republican.  It’s almost an unwritten rule in my circles that you aren’t really a Christian if you don’t side with the Republicans.  There are some things that I agree with in the Republican party, but there are some things I don’t, as well.  Abortion—I tend to be against it, but I don’t think it should be mandated policy that no one, ever, should be allowed to have an abortion again.  Will Rachel and I choose to have one if a birth defect or something should be discovered with one of our future children?  I highly doubt we’d opt for an abortion.  But, I’m not going to say that I need to mandate that policy for everyone in our country.  Yes, I would suggest having the baby and allowing for adoption instead of abortion, but I don’t know.  There’s also the issue of the mother possibly losing her life if she tries to give birth or even carry the baby full term.  We have c-sections and lots of equipment to keep a premature baby alive, but it may be a serious question for a mother to face.  So I’m not going to say that abortion would never be an option for someone.  For it to be an option based on convenience for the mother or trying to hide a ‘one night stand mistake’ or something like that—yes, I think that would be wrong.  So I would, again, recommend adoption instead.

Another thing that I tend to agree with the Republicans is the general issue of hard work and earning your own money.  I think everyone should work if they are able, instead of living a life of dependence on a substance or system or taken-advantage-of-family-member.  But I don’t think that describes a certain ethnicity in our country!  Get out of your cozy life and meet some people if that’s what you think to be the case.

Yes, I agree with the principle ‘He who doesn’t work, doesn’t eat,’ to an extent.  Children don’t need to get a job, disabled people (not to be read only as mentally disabled; it includes someone losing a leg or arm, etc.) aren’t always able to find a job, elderly people aren’t always able to continue working as their bodies slow down and begin dying.  Yet I’m pretty sure most people would agree with those three examples too.  (I feel like I’m leaving this topic undeveloped, but my mind is working quickly as I get to the point of this whole post!)

Where I’m going with this post is this: many people don’t want the government to redistribute the money they earn to those who don’t work or can’t work.  I think this ties back in to the value issue.

It seems to me that the real issue is how we value people.

Here’s why: our value system is set up to give certain people more value if they have a certain job, or make a certain amount of money, or have a certain type of lifestyle that’s at least similar to ours.  We tend to give less value to those who make less than we do, or who live in a house that’s not kept up as nicely as ours, or who wear thinner, older, out-of-style-in-a-very-noticeable-way, dirty, not-the-correct-size, rattier type of clothes.  Why in the world do we do this?

Because it’s a pride issue.  We feel more important and better and worth more if we can compare ourselves with someone else and come out ahead, at least in our own head.

So why are so many people against this issue?  I think it’s because people value people improperly.  I’m guilty too, but I want to point this out so we can help each other with this.

What if we started being intentional about not being tied to stuff?  What if we gave away money to people who don’t deserve it?  What makes that money yours anyway?  What if we met and became friends with people who don’t make enough money to own a car?  What if we invited poor people into our lives, into our homes, and shared conversations and laughs and tears and food and things?  What if we started sharing now?

If the government wants to make it happen anyway, why not figure out a way to enjoy it.  It’s somewhat a subversive act, in that regards.  And if there’s part of you that still wants to be a rebel in some way, you can join me in figuring this out.  We can be rebels together.

Now, the practical step.  I am a dreamer.  I tend to think of something and imagine what it could look like.  I really enjoy it.  It's part of who I am.  I'm not so good at actually carrying it out.  Most of my dreams are still in my head, with very few steps taken in the real world.  So, this is where I need your help.  I am definitely pointing to my own lifestyle and choices and comfort as I think about this issue.  I don't like that I point stuff out in others that I still see in myself, but I'm reminded that I have a lot of work needed in my own life too.

So, share your thoughts.  How could we make this work?  What steps could we take?  I don't think I know very many people who vote differently or make less than I do or wear the clothes that don't match the standard in my foolish brain.  So what's something practical that I can do to take a step toward this?

(Now, in closing, I’m not trying to say which way you need to vote.  That has nothing to do with why I’m posting this.  I won’t be upset whichever way you vote, and I think I’ve decided which candidate I’m voting for.  So don’t try to tell me which way to vote either.  We can talk in person, but not online.  Also, please share your thoughts about the value issue.  That’s the point of the post.  Once you’ve shared on that, then feel free to add to the other issues or bring something else up.  But only after addressing the point of this post.  Thanks!)

-mister-

September

This post will be tying up some loose ends for me.  I have lots of pictures too!  And this will be long. 

So here we go.

We had Ainsley’s birthday party on September 1, which meant we were either going to have a beach theme party, or we were going to get the back patio finished.  Well, we didn’t pass out leis, so we’ve finally finished the project.  And it looks amazing, if I may say so myself.

Weedless landscaping, almost!

With our gazebo!

We finished the Thursday before, I pulled weeds (tons of them), I mowed, we put up some tents and tables, we busted out the lawn chairs, and we had ourselves a party.  It did rain just a little bit, but it was a great day.  Ainsley really enjoyed her cake too.  My mom made a cake for everyone, and then made a large cupcake for Ainsley, which we affectionately called her ‘Smash Cake.’  And that she did.  She probably ate half of it, and wore the other half.  It was shower time afterward, before opening presents. J  We had a blast though!  The photographer we had for her party was amazing too!  (ahem)  He only took pictures for about 20 minutes, and never got any besides Ainsley, her cake, and a tomato worm we found in the garden.  We'll see if he makes it to the next one!

You may not want to eat after her.

Precious Princess!  Love her lots!

On a different note, I did get my clothesline put in a while ago.  I’ve finally used it a few times as well.  I find it very relaxing as I hang up clothes to dry.  It’s a way to help me slow down and enjoy the little things.  It’s weird, but I think I will have a clothesline at our next house, if we ever move.  There’s just something about having to slow down to let your clothes dry.  It’s … I don’t know.  I may be in love with it!  Now, we’ve discovered that we won’t put everything out there to dry.  For instance, none of Rachel’s undergarments, no nice shirts, no pants, and I think that’s it.  So t-shirts, Ainsley’s clothes, socks, some of my underwear (as long as I’m cool with it), towels.  So, yes, we still use our dryer, but we use it less now, unless it’s raining when I do laundry.  And, no, I’m not planning on using it in the winter time.  It would be hard to put on a frozen tshirt.

No one's panties are hanging on it right now.

My brother Paul is leaving for his final deployment and final leg of being enlisted as a Marine.  So we’re getting excited for his move back home.  My parents drove out a couple weeks in advance to enjoy some western sites and to help Paul’s wife Kambria move some stuff back home to Ohio.  So since my parents have been gone, I’ve been blessed / cursed with a huge tomato harvest.  I don’t HAVE to get them, but I feel as if not using them would be a huge waste of a large tomato crop.  So we’ve been trying our hand at making our own sauce.

Our first attempt wasn’t bad, but it didn’t have much flavor, even though we added garlic and onions.  Our second attempt was better with flavor since we added some herbs, but weird in texture, because the tomatoes were larger and had longer strings / tissue than the previous batch.  So on our third attempt, we decided to ask for some recipes from others.  And we got lots of great advice.  I think our ingredient amounts were off because it came across somewhat bland.  So we'll keep experimenting until we get something that works great.

Slicing and Coring

Blanching

Blanched and about to be peeled

Stewing

We cored them, squished out the seeds, boiled them for about 10 minutes, doused them in cold water, peeled off the skins, and then added some herbs, onions, garlic, and anise extract.  Yes, that’s right, anise, the stuff that gives black licorice its flavor.  It actually smells really good when you’re cooking it, and it reminds me of Sambuca from Olive Garden, an Italian liqueur that you’re supposed to drink with 3 espresso beans for good luck.  I never tasted it, but it smelled pretty good.  Even though I’m not a huge fan of black licorice, I do like the smell of the extract.  We froze it in 3 cup amounts, perfect for spaghetti for 2!

Also, while we’re speaking about tomatoes, I tried some fried green tomatoes the other day.  I didn’t really like them, but I’ve never seen them cooked before.  So I could have done it wrong.  Rachel’s grandma says she eats them with sugar, or at least can tolerate them with sugar.  So I may give that a shot next time.  But I decided I’d try to see if I like them because I have slugs eating holes in my red ones if I don’t get them the day they turn red.  So I thought I’d try a green one and see if I could beat ‘em to the punch.  Nope.  At least not this year anyway.  Maybe I’ll force myself to like them next year.  I’m good at that.  Last year I didn’t even enjoy eating raw tomatoes.  This year, I eat them off the plant, and even got Ainsley to like them too!  Careful, world, I may decide to conquer you!

Slug-eaten Tomatoes

So our garden has produced an excessive amount of tomatoes, and it’s also done well with zucchini and spaghetti squash.  We grew tired of grilling and frying zucchini, so I made some zucchini bread.  OK, let's be honest.  I made A LOT of zucchini bread: 8 loaves to date.  It’s so good!  We made chocolate zucchini bread last time, but decided to skip the choc this time.  By no means does it mean it’s healthier.  There’s so much sugar in it, I was amazed.  But, again, it’s delicious, and I don’t really care that much.  Especially since I like to slather it with butter as well.  So stop on by and get some.  We have a few loaves in the freezer.  But they don't last long.

Zucchini Bread

Here’s the berries, growing like crazy.  I’m wishing I only got blackberry plants, because they’re growing so much better and look so much healthier.  But alas, I didn’t.  I’m feeling better about the raspberries as they get bigger though.

Raspberries.  The blackberries are seriously 4x times as big!

Here’s the garden.  I replanted some beans, peas, spinach, and lettuce.  I think it’s been too hot for the peas still, but we’ll see what happens.  I hope there are enough bees or butterflies to pollinate them for fruiting.  The first crop of beans were eaten alive by insects.  This time I put some Seven on them to keep them off.  Well, it rained one day.  I told myself I’d wait til after the next rain to put more on, but I was already behind.  But they haven’t gotten worse since I did that.  They need another dusting soon though, or else they’re gone-ers too!  The spinach and lettuce have barely come up, but it’s been hot lately, and I haven’t given them much water.  And since two and two is four, that explains our problem!

Peas.  I've eaten 4 so far this round.

Beans.  Doing a little better since the picture was taken.

I’m still amazed my spaghetti squash is still producing so well.  The one section got some mildew on the leaves, and it killed all the plants.  I thought the other section was already done, but it decided it wanted to go for another round.  So I still have 9 more squash coming!  I hope I can figure out how to eat it all, because I don’t think Rachel is going to want much of it.

The ONLY pepper to grow this year!

Ainsley eating an apple.  It is fall after all.

All right.  Loose ends all tied up.  Thanks for reading.  Go enjoy something today!

-mister-

Garden Satisfaction

Well, it's August.  That means school is coming around again.  It means it's supposed to be blazing hot outside.  It means tomatoes should be turning red...and they are.  Remember back with me to the spring when I planted way too many tomato plants from seed.  Remember with me how I didn't care for them and most of the first batch died.  Remember with me that I did successfully start from seed 4 Brandywine plants and 4 Jelly Bean plants.  Well, I've only enjoyed 2 jelly bean tomatoes so far.  This first picture is the first harvest of tomatoes.....off the plants that I didn't plant on purpose.  I have 5 plants that started growing on their own, and they're doing phenomenally well!  You will only see 10 tomatoes in the picture because Ainsley helped me get them.  I set her down with one zucchini, and went after the tomatoes.  She tried to eat the stem of the zucchini, which was pretty funny.  I put 12 tomatoes in front of her, turned around for 30 seconds to pick the other two zucchinis and I laughed at what I saw.  She had bitten and spit out the first tomato, but she was going in for another!!!!  She's like a bull, she loves the color red.  I've tried giving her tomatoes again, but she spits it right out.  I think she gets the texture thing from her mama, but I didn't like tomatoes as a kid either.

We have probably picked about 6-7 dozen tomatoes!  No joke.  We've used them all so far with different recipes.  My favorite super simple one was dicing them up, adding some garlic salt, and spreading it on buttered toast.  Refreshing!

We've picked about 10 zucchinis so far, using all but two of them at this point.  Some top recipes for these has been the zucchini cakes mentioned last time and the chocolate zucchini bread we made for Sunday school.  Oddly, Rachel wanted to make it, and then never even tried it.  One of our pastors said it's the only way to make zucchini taste good.  :-)

The next picture is some lovely homegrown goodness from our friends John and Amber.  They have some peach trees in their backyard, and it's way too many peaches for them to eat themselves.  It's pretty rough being their friends and HAVING to take them off their hands.  I ate about 5 peaches the day they brought them, and then cut all these up the next day, finishing them off on day 3.  They didn't last long.  Thankfully, they brought another bag this week too since they were blown off with the last storm that came through this past weekend.  I'm trying to savor them this time.  Ainsley is definitely my daughter though; she polished off 2 peaches all by herself.  (Oh, I also saved a seed or two to try planting a tree for us too.)

One other amazing surprise from the garden this year: remember how 5 tomato plants are growing that I didn't plant on purpose?  Well, I had a couple potato plants do the same thing.  I dug up 2 decent-sized potatoes yesterday, and I didn't even plant them!  That was really cool.  I also harvest the beets, which only produced one fairly small beet and four tiny things.  So if I choose to grow them again I'll look for growing tips.

We received about 50 carrots the other week, from my mom's garden.  They tasted just as good as the full sized carrots from the store, but knowing where they came from made them even better.  I just need to find a good way to make them last longer than a week in the fridge, because I can only eat so many carrots in such a short amount of time.

I'm also hoping to grow more diversity next year with more root crops and different things.  I also intend to plant them at the right time and give them what they need.  We'll see if I can actually follow through with that though!

Thanks for reading.  Time to eat.

-mister-

Dear Ainsley [11 months]

As mentioned before we took some of Ainsley's 1 year pictures this week. A few of my favorites are scattered through this letter to Ains. The rest are on Facebook. Enjoy our sweet lil' one! :)


Dear Ainsley-


Next month you are turning 1! And I'm so excited for it. I know all parents say it, but it seems like just yesterday you were born. Especially with a new baby brother or sister on his/her way in a few months, it's my goal to continue to soak up these moments with just you and Papa.

 This month was a month of transitions for you. Our first attempt to switch you over to whole milk resulted in a rash a couple days later, which ended us at the doctor to learn that you had hand, foot, and mouth disease and impetigo. We went back to nursing for a couple weeks until it was all cleared up and then you're back to the milk, without a problem. After Grandma-wisdom, we decided 1-2% milk was a better option than the whole milk as the fat enzymes that remain in your poo may have been the root of the rash. [Your Papa had similar issues as a wee one.] Now at your 11-month birthday, you are going on nearly a week of whole milk only. You and I thankfully, have handled the transition well.

Your other BIG transition was into your crib at night! Now I'd been dreading thinking about this transition for months. Nine times out of 10 when we'd tell someone that we co-slept, a comment would be made about the nightmare we'd experience when we tried to get you to sleep on your own. Your Papa and I decided that come Summer we'd make this transition. I mean I don't need sleep in the summer, right?! Well June came and went and we snuggled through the early summer nights. With a work trip planned for the 2nd full week of July aka 1 king bed in our room, we decided after that would be a great time to make the switch. I stalked the blogworld for support and suggestions and then came July 19th. Papa gave you a bottle and rocked you to sleep. He laid you down in your crib. Instantly you woke in tears, but 3 minutes and 8 seconds later, you were out for the count!! [Yes, momma timed it! I was only going to let you cry for 5 minutes. :)]

You woke a couple times that first night for a few minutes each time but considering it was the first time in 327 day and the only time in your entire life that you had slept farther than an arms distance from your momma, I thought you did great!! The next night, I was whooped and Papa had nighttime duty. He rocked and rocked you, and next thing I knew, I woke next to Papa and you in our bed. He informed me it wasn't worth the fight and there's another day to try. Good enough for me. 

Well the next night, Papa wasn't feeling too great and I tried to get you into your crib peacefully. You wanted nothing to do with sleeping let alone your crib, so that night? Papa woke next to you and me. :) Since then though you've slept in your crib and most nights you haven't even woke during a 9 or 10 hour stretch. It has been wonderful! And as much as we loved your nightly snuggles, we've enjoyed the slumber party like pillow talk and evening time together since we've made the transition. You still cry like crazy for a few seconds [13 to be exact the other night] or a couple minutes [not more than 3 yet though] as soon as you are laid in your crib, but so far, so good!!

In addition to those major transitions, you are still as cute and fun as ever! Your personality is really starting to shine and your facial expressions crack.us.up! Today, I think you learned what the word "kisses" means, although it's important to keep our mouth shut when we receive such kisses right now! ;)

My fav!

Keep being sweet, sweet Pete! Keep being the joy to our world!


Much love,


Momma

Photo Shoot Preview & Goal #25

With Mister having the day off today, we thought it'd be a good day to head to the park and take some pics for Ainsley's first birthday. Well unbeknownst to us rain was in the forecast so after snuggling through a Tyler Perry movie [my fav!], a lunch date, a few errands, and a nice nap, the sun came out and we decided to still head to the park. 


We took 300+ a lot of pics so hopefully we have a dozen good ones. No exaggeration on either end of the estimates. We still have to sift through them all but I thought I'd leave you with one preview:

Ainsley & her lil' sibling's first photo.
Goal #25 :-)

Baby Massie #2 is healthily growing with an expected arrival of early March. Ainsley had a due date that threatened to keep me away from The Allen County Fair, yet was unsuccessful as I made it there all but the day my water broke and the day she was born. This little one though I'm 99.9% will keep me from another annual attendance at the OHSAA State Wrestling Tournament. Since I'm due the weekend of the tournament, I'm already counting on my first missed attendance in 16 years!!! 


He or she is definitely worth it though! 


We are all excited and hoping for another smooth pregnancy with a perfect, healthy outcome; just like the last one!

Goal Updates: Warrior Dash & Running

Over a month and an half ago now--wow, summer's flying and I have had this typed for 3 weeks now!--about twenty family members from the Clum side headed to Logan, Onio to participate in the Warrior Dash. (Basically a 3.5 mile obstacle course.) 


Now a year ago, I didn't really know anything about such run, but a friend of mine mentioned it in spin class and then Mister and I got to talking about it and before we knew it,the whole clan was signed up for it! And we decided since we were all going down, we should make a weekend of it--and so that's what we did. :-) Lodge was reserved, meals were planned, and costumes (White Trash Class, of course) was decided upon. 

White Trash Class Before Pic

As family trickled in Friday night, we settled in with much laughter and fun 'making' our costumes which culminated with my lovely brothers giving each other costume appropriate hair cuts.

My favorite part of this pic isn't my brothers,
although they are looking studly,
but rather it's everyone's facial expressions in the background!

Saturday morning we had a breakfast of pancakes and eggs before heading to the fair grounds close to where the Warrior Dash was being held. The excitement and comic relief of others' costumes left our group splitting up--half heading to the starting line and the other half settled in with the kids to wait to watch the finish. 

Mr. & Mrs. Classy with matching fu-man-chus

Mister and I decided that we'd run together figuring it'd be more fun to share the experience and so we stuck together the whole time--which was also good since he wore my time chip since I didn't have shoestrings to attach it too. At various times we crossed paths with other family members and enjoyed the challenges and humor of the course. My brother intentionally slid down his share of muddy slopes whereas my slides weren't as planned. :-) We weren't there to win--as my case in all runs--and wanted to just enjoy the experience. I'd say we successfully accomplished that goal. 

My younger brother celebrating his finish!

Mister and I caught up with my mom in one of the last obstacles as we climbed up and back down the cargo net. The next obstacle was jumping over a couple rows of fire, over which I squawked like a 10 year old and my momma was a bit afraid her workout pants would go up in flames. The final obstacle was a 2 foot deep muddy water that you had to crawl through under barbed wire. At this point, Chris was ahead of me and momma was just behind me. Well I thought it'd be a good idea to swim in the muddy water, which was until I heard my momma yell, "Rachel! You're splashing me right in the face!!" I turned to see how close she was and then decided to finish the course with a backstroke through the water and then slipped several times trying to get out of the pit. 

White Trash Class After

After cleaning up a bit aka rubbing dried mud off and throwing away old clothes, we headed back to the lodge for the remainder of the weekend. 

All the Clum Clan in attendance

Overall, the weekend was so much fun and my favorite part--even beyond my muddy backstroke--was spending time with extended family! We decided then and there that this needed to occur more often so a lodge is booked for another Clum gathering in September! And I may just have a list of possibilities for a beach/lake vacation next summer! *Clum Clan if you're reading this: We want YOU there even if you weren't able to attend the Warrior Dash weekend!!*


In other, similar news, another goal is confidently crossed of my list of 101 things to accomplish in 1001 days: 


13. Run 101 miles. 


After yesterday's Run to the Moon 10km, I've chalked 122 miles since I started this task about a year ago. If you'd look at my running tracker, you'd quickly notice that I'm awful at consistency. For example, I did great end of February/March, then fell off the wagon thanks to picking up an extra afterschool teaching assignment, and then this summer have done a bit better again. Which is good since Mister, Momma-cita and I are registered for a HALF MARATHON come October! I'm anxiously looking forward to it already, especially after yesterday's run. 


Now I've said it before and I'll likely continue to repeat myself for a while, but I am not a runner. Yes, I run, but I'm not what I consider a runner. [What to 'meet' a real, awesome runner?! Meet my friend, Sara, who is both a great runner and a great baker!! Order a dozen cupcakes if you don't want to take my word for it! ;)] Anyways, even with the half marathon we're registered for, I have/had no intentions of actually running for 13.1 miles straight. 


We've been following Jeff Galloway's training and suggestions and for our Sunday morning "long runs" have been following a 4 minute run/1 minute walk interval. It's comfortable and we've been keeping about a mid-11 minute/mile pace which isn't too far off from my typical mid-10/min to just under 11 min/mile pace for a 5k. Well yesterday as we embarked on our first race of a longer distances [previously I've only done 5ks (3.1 miles) and 1-4 mile race], I shared with Mister that my goal was to run the first half as if it were a typical 5k aka run as much as possible with a walk break if I felt like I really needed it, and then for the second half of the race, do a 4/1 interval.


Well we got started and it was a bit depressing since there weren't many people behind us, but we were   with the tail-end of the pack. When we crossed the 1/2 mile marker and our watches read 6:45, I turned to Chris and commented, "We suck!" Sure I felt slow, but I didn't think I was that slow! [Sidenote: I'll saw I a lot when it comes to pace or goals because Mister is a champ and goes along with what I feel comfortable with!] 


Thankfully we quickly came upon the 1 mile marker at 10:something and our suspension was confirmed: the 1/2 mile marker was misplaced! We ran the first half taking just one walk break of a few strides through the water station in order to rehydrate, and then we just kept going. Instead of intentionally taking walk breaks, we ended up running the entire race minus 3 water stations which in my book, doesn't really count as walking!


We finished overall with an 11:34/mile pace clocking in at 1:11:33 which was 3.5 minutes under our goal of an hour and 15 minutes. It was nice that the 10k course finished with the 5k course because it felt like more people were behind us than really were, but overall as I promised myself at the beginning of the run, I felt good because I did it. It doesn't matter how other's finish, it matters how I run the race. We met our time goal and even more accomplishing to my weak runner's self-esteem was that I ran for 6.2 miles which is over 2 miles longer than I have ever ran straight before. Even if we did place last in our divisions, I was proud!

Mister still ended up with a trophy,
signed by a real astronaut.
I ended up with a Moon Pie.

The only major downer of this run is that about 4 miles in when I took my sunglasses off to wipe them clean, the bottom of my rim caught my nose ring and pulled it out. It didn't hurt, but it was the second one I lost in 24 hours. Maybe it's a sign. Even though I have more nose studs, I don't really like them, so I'm thinking it'll grow shut.


-Rachel


Note: I stole borrowed all Warrior Dash pictures from my great sister-in-law who was the official photographer for the weekend!

July Garden

To start off this post, here are some pictures taken recently.

SummerFest in Spencerville

My transplanted tree thing that blooms great when watered...

...and dies off quickly if not watered.

Raspberry growing slowly

Blackberry growing more quickly

Rachel is digging, and Ainsley is sleeping

Spaghetti squash running away from the garden

Tomatoes, some turned red the other day!

Last phase before adding stone for our patio!  We're getting there!

We've been enjoying the squash from our garden.  Squashes #4 and #5 are on the table, ready to be chopped up for the grill tomorrow, and #'s 6, 7, and 8 will be ready to pick any day now.  We made some zucchini cakes with one the other day, because Rachel loves the ones from Ruby Tuesdays.  They were pretty good, but we’re going to look for another recipe to see if we can find any better ones.

Zucchini/Summer Squash

We’re about to start enjoying the spaghetti squash too.  I just need to figure out how to cook it really well.  Honestly, I’m fascinated by it, but I’ve only ever eaten it once, ironically enough at Ruby Tuesdays as well.  So I hope I like it a whole lot, or else we’ll be giving away lots and lots.

Spaghetti Squash, in the wild

I savored these peas the other day too.  I’m not holding out much hope for many more of those since peas don’t grow very well in the high heat.  And with the temps hitting 100 last week……..my desire for lots of homegrown snap peas will either have to wait until fall or next spring.

Last of the Sugar Peas

My pole beans got destroyed this year.  I mean, the plants are still spreading and growing like crazy, but there’s no way they’re going to be able to produce any beans since the leaves have been going to church every single day, i.e., they’re super hole-y!  So that’s a bummer.  I might try to plant some more in a few weeks and see what I can do to protect them from being bug lunch, instead of our fried goodness with bacon and mushrooms.  Man, I can almost taste it.  I’m going to try again this year now!  Maybe even tomorrow I’ll put the seeds in!!!!!

Destroyed Pole Beans

Oo=99999=99====[[9,=== /im/   ;   (That was from Ainsley)

Ainsley is getting so big!

On a different note, we’ve been making our own bread a lot during the past 6 months or so.  There have been times we didn’t want to or forgot and really just wanted some store-bought bread, but we’ve been enjoying the smell of fresh bread in the house about every week.  Well, I made three kinds this week, each with a new twist.

The first, and most normal, had oatmeal and flax seed mixed into it.  The second, with an amazing new twist to it, had Italian seasonings mixed in—wait for it, wait for it—with parmesan cheese on top!  It was really good.  Rachel made an ‘Italian’ meal just so we could enjoy the fresh Italian bread with it.  And the third had cinnamon and raisins mixed in, with a little sugar on the top.  It was as good as I hoped it would be.  The touch of sugar on top really sealed it too.

Oatmeal and Flax Seed

Italian Seasonings with Parmesan Cheese Topping

Cinnamon and Raisins with Sugar Coating

So if these pictures cause you to drool, here's the recipe:

Mix 2 cups of flour (bread or all-purpose, they both turn out the same for me) and 2 cups of really warm water.  Then add each of these one at a time: 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons active bread yeast, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 tablespoons oil (I use olive oil).  Mix it all together and let it sit for about 10 minutes.  It should be really bubbly when you do the next phase.

Stir/knead in another 3 cups of flour one at a time (sometimes I use whole wheat flour for 1 cup of it—because we have it and because it’s not as modified as the others are).  When the dough is the consistency of your ear lobe, and not too sticky, it’s good.  Cover it with a warm, damp cloth, and set it in a warm spot to rise for 45 minutes.  It should about double in size before you work it anymore.

At this point, you split it into however many loaves you want (typically 2 or 3 depending how quickly we think we’ll eat it).  This is the point where you flavor it or doctor it up as you desire.  I don’t use measured amounts here.  I just add the seasonings or whatever else as I think looks good.  When you’ve mixed it in, you want to make sure you shape it as you want it.

Place them in greased bread pans (I have tried olive oil, baking spray, and butter.  Butter works the best for me.).  Cover them again and let them sit for about a half hour, until they’ve about doubled in size and are pretty much the size of a finished loaf.  Preheat the oven to 350F, and let them bake for 25 minutes.

Let them cool on a rack or a cutting board before cutting, to ensure you don’t demolish your newly baked loaf.  But if you absolutely can’t resist diving in, I completely understand.  My advice there comes from experience!!!

Enjoy creating your own!

-Mister-