Not Walking the Line

the girls' reorganized room

I am all about teaching my kids musical appreciation. Of all different genres. We sing hymns every morning together-learning their tunes, words, and stories. (Check out some of our favorite under Hymns and Haws on my Favorites Page)

I packed up Meres' crib. She is camping out on the bottom bunk now.

We attend blues concerts in a park near our house every Tuesday during the summer.

Our Pandora dial is set to Motown, Beach Boys and Leahy.

I'm all about most types of music-except rap and hard rock. It's just not my thing. Mr. Hippie is into Lecrae, though, and I still love him.

So when I looked through my swag bag from the Influence Blogging Conference this fall, I was excited to find a cd of lullabies. And not of the Brahms and Mozart brand either.

This was a cd from Tree Top Records, an outfit out of Nashville, belonging to one of my blogging friends, Amanda Williams. (she also has a fun blog) She and her husband, David, have put together a line of lullaby albums that are unique. To quote them:

"Cradle Rock takes iconic albums and songs and transforms them into instrumental lullabies. Using soothing tones from vibraphones, mellotrons and more, some of the greatest music in Country, Rock and Pop is now arranged in a way that you can expose your little music lover to your favorite songs. Every album in the Cradle Rock series is produced with the parent and child in mind. The melodies and tempos stay true to the originals, while the tones are softened to make the overall song a true lullaby."

Their Johnny Cash album was in my swag bag, and I won a the Garth Brooks disc in a giveaway a month or two ago. And I have to say that I really like them both. And so do my kids.

My kids are very familiar with the music of a Johnny Cash like Walk the Line and Ring of Fire. They love listening to this rendition of his popular songs. Garth Brooks isn't as familiar, but Mr. Hippie knows them all.

They have 3 lines of ablums-pop, country and rock which include U2, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, Michael Jackson and Kenny Chesney. They offer individual cd's for $11.98, or bundles of 4 for $24.99. An absolute steal of a deal. I hope you will check them out, and take a listen on their home page (here) and maybe pick one out for your family. They are also available on iTunes, and Amazon.

Btw, this is a totally unsolicited review. I have not been compensated in any way for expressing my opinion. I only share products I genuinely like. And I hope you will like them too.

my new stack of books from the library today. can't wait to get into them!

Btw #2, a while ago I reviewed Olive Us, fun shorts of Gabrielle Blair's 6 kids in France. Well, they have some new episodes out, and you might want to watch them with your kids. Like I did. (here) They are fun, clean, educational, and have a catchy jingle that Meres loves to jive to.

Btw #3-my other new favorite product is my salad spinner from Pampered Chef. In case you were wondering. I have never spun salad before. It is quite fun to get it (manually) revved up, and spinning away. I sometimes wonder if it is going to attain lift off. And it does a great job of drying the lettuce too. Win-win.

What are you loving these days? This last day of the love month? Tell me in the comments.

Hormonal? Who's Hormonal?

(All my male readers, do yourself, and me, a favor-and give this post a pass. Thanks!)

There are days. And then there are days.

There are days like yesterday. So sunshiny and bright, sunglasses were necessary. I baked bread and cookies, and wrote, and did school, and got some cleaning done, and made a delicious dinner for my family, and did triathlon training. Productive and wonderful.

And then there is today. It is grey and sleeting. Sleeting on the semi melted snow. I got up to run, and managed a poor 3 of my 4 miles. I did go 4, but I probably walked most of one. I am tired. I am cold. I am hungry. Well-not really hungry, just in a munching mood.

I'm blue. Through and through.

I have so many post ideas that I want to write. Happy posts. Normal posts. But I just can't get my mood around them.

All I want to do is bury myself in my thick duvet, and not come out until tomorrow.

This post in brought to you by Hormones...can't live with 'em and you can't live without 'em.

Sigh...

Way back, years ago-in my teen and early 20s, I use to scoff at the girls who were confined to bed with PMS. Get real, girls! Way back in my ignorant years. Before bearing 4 kids. I am so sorry. I really and truly am.

Those were the days. The days of mild cramps, and mild mood swings. Inconvenient, but not life altering. Not by a long shot.

But, one thing that never seems to make the What to Expect When You are Expecting (and forever after) is how your body is never the same again after having a child. And I'm talking about a whole lot more than baby bellies, flat feet, saggy boobs, and stretch marks.

How about those hormones? Swingin', people! Absolutely swingin'!

I've learned the finer nuances of PMS-the pre part. As a harbinger of good things to come, I have had night sweats for a couple nights prior to my period starting-since after Freckles. I am not talking about just "stick a leg out of the covers because you are a little warm" kind. I'm talking, full-on, soaking wet sheets. Like someone dumped some water in there. Or peed the bed. Yeah. That pleasant.

And emotionally, well, I am pull my hair out crazy feeling. Seriously. My scalp tingles. Jittery. On edge. Easily offended. And, last month I was stranded in Jakarta, with out a dollar, and with out a friend, not knowing a lick of Bahasa Indonesian- at that point of the month. It was not a good combo, people. Let me tell you. Small life hiccups make me feel like I am going to lose it. Like I am a potential candidate for our local mental institution.

Yes, this calm and collected, organized, and has everything all together Barefoot Hippie Girl, is certifiably crazy once a month.

And then we actually get into the MS part of PMS, and that's no picnic either. How about that perineum? That part of me that got stretch 4 times, to release a child. Yeah, I can feel those 4 times very nicely each month, thank you very much! I ache so bad I can barely stand, let alone walk. I spend most of my first day fortified with a double dose of ibuprofen sitting cross legged whenever possible.

Nor do I think it coincidence that the 2 hardest years of our marriage corresponded with both the girls' first years. With LC I tacked it up to our 7th year. 7th year itch and all that. With Meres I was a bit wiser. But, I didn't fully realized how much I was swinging all year, until after I was done nursing. Then things finally leveled out a bit.

Today I am in a funk. I am hormonal. I fought with the person I love most in the world. I am exhausted, and my mood matches the grey of the sleet hitting my bedroom windows.

I would love to write a cheery post. But, I can't. I am an emotional wreck. My heart is sore.

I am so thankful that the sun will come out tomorrow. That tomorrow is another day. A fresh start. 

And I am so thankful for unconditional love. The love of God, and the love of a good man.

Just as a side note, I do take NKO everyday, and multi vitamins, which have greatly helped me. They keep me functional, and able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. So, though I experience this every month, it really is just temporary-every month.

How I Set Myself up for Morning Success

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

photo credit: Gerhard Buettner

A long time ago (well, only a bit over a month ago-though that seems like a long time ago, what with everything that happened, and everywhere I've been) I wrote a post called Morning Glories (here), about my love of mornings, and what my perfect morning looks like.

But, though I am a lover of mornings, I am not a clear headed, chirper morning person. I am rather foggy and grunt-y-ish until I've been shown the coffee. Coffee is only the first component of about half my mornings,  and if my perfect morning is going to come off perfectly, there is some preparation to be done.

And, chances are, whether you are a morning lover-like me- or not, you probably get up sometime in the morning. Are you mornings smooth or harried? Perfect or a nightmare?

Here's what I do in order to not sabotage my perfect morning before it even starts...

1. Set out my outfit the night before. If I am swimming the next day, I have my bag packed, with my suit, towel, toiletries, wallet, phone and outfit for the next day-before I go to bed. This is key for several reasons.
-I am less likely to talk myself out of going, because everything is all set to go.
-I don't have to try to figure what I need, and what I am going to wear, when I can barely open my eyes. It is already done.
-By picking out my clothes the night before, I just stick with whatever I pick. I don't try on 10 different outfits, based on my mood. Whatever I picked is picked and worn.

(When I am setting out my clothes, I take in to account the events of the next day. Wednesdays I always scrub the bathrooms, so I pack a grungier shirt that won't get wrecked while cleaning.)

Btw, this is a good principle for anything you might be wanting for your morning: shoes, coffee mug, Bible, notebook, computer, whatever-set it out the night before.

2. Don't hit the snooze. Rarely, rarely does that extra 5 or 10 minutes make a difference. It is far better to jump out of bed on the first buzz. (or cricket chirp. That's what my alarm is.) Place your alarm clock somewhere that you have to get out of bed to turn it off, and then just stay out of bed. Make this a habit.

3. Plan backwards. If I have somewhere to be, i.e., church on Sunday mornings, I work through my time/schedule backwards, so that we will be on time. Like this:

We have to be at church at 9:15 to set up for communion, which means we need to be walking out the door at 9:00. In order to be out the door at 9:00, shoes and jackets need to be put on. Start that by 8:50. Which means that breakfast needs to be done by 8:50. Breakfast needs to start by 8:30 at the latest. Oatmeal takes 30 minutes to get ready, so it has to start by 7:50-to leave time for dishing up by 8:20. In order to eat by 8:30, everyone also needs to be dressed. Wake up the kids by 8:15 to get them done in time. (We can do it this late because 3 of my 4 can dress themselves, and they haven't discovered the joys of primping yet) To get my kids up by 8:15, I need to be in the shower by 7:45. And I like to drink my coffee first, so it needs to be ready to go by 7:20. It takes 15-20 minutes to get the coffee drinkable, so I need to kick Mr. Hippie out of bed by 7:00. And I sleep until he brings the coffee.

Does that make sense? I know I can wake up at 7:00 on any given Sunday morning, and have a leisurely cup of coffee, shower, dress and feed my kids, and still be to church before 9:15.

Anytime I have someplace to go, I think like this. And I even have done a pared down version for our school mornings. Any time I have something I need to get done by a specific time, I think like this. (I learned this practice as a camp cook, so all the components of dinner would be ready-at dinner time.)

4. Go to bed at a decent hour. Decent varies from person to person, but I know I need at least 6 hours of sleep to function, and I prefer 8. That means I am sleeping by 10:30 on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights. Again, doing the backward planning thing, I have to figure in reading, getting ready for bed, etc, to be ready by then.

5. Wake my kids up at the latest possible moment. I was totally raised with the mantra, "let sleeping babies lie." I rarely break that rule. I need the quiet, and they need the sleep. So long as we are not being late to any- and every- thing, this works best for me.

6. Make the bed. This can be done while groggy, and is usually one of the first things I do everyday. It gives me a simple task that is accomplished. Something that is easily made neat and orderly. It's a small thing, but it starts my organizationally motivated mind clipping in the right direction. Plus, I'm less likely to crawl back into my made bed.

photo credit: Gerhard Buettner

As a professed morning person, these are the habits I've worked into my life to make my perfect morning possible. So I can drink my coffee, and talk with Mr. Hippie, and exercise, and read my Bible, and get organized for the day.

What are your strategies for making your mornings smooth, successful and profitable?

Last Hurrah

Knowledge is just knowledge-until you put some feet to it.

I shared a week ago 10 things this trip has taught me. (here) And obviously I was more than ecstatic to be back home (here).

But now I am pondering the middle ground. Just what do I take away from this trip? What do I do? How does God want me to put some feet to my knowledge? 

That is the question.

I had an interesting discussion with my chiropractor yesterday. Mr. Hippie had been in the day before to get adjusted, so he already knew we had traveled to the other side of the world.

Of course, he is going to get the conversational ball rolling with a doozy of a question. 'Cause there I am, practically half naked, on his bench, and that is the best time for vulnerable conversation. Snort.

Anyway...he asked me what the most impacting part of my trip was. What changed my views the most.

And I had to answer: how different life is over there.

Clean drinking water does not just flow freely from the tap. It must be filtered. And generally people drink collected rain barrel water, not tap water. Rain...collect...filter...drink.

Or the day to day existence. Buying just enough food to see you through that day. Just enough soap. There is no such thing as full cupboards and fridges. They don't save money. They don't have money to save.

There are no clothes dryers, and a good chunk of the population doesn't have washers either.

We saw their life, but only from a distance. We lived our relatively posh existence of pared down convenience. 

Besides physical poverty, there is also rampant spiritual poverty. Millions and millions of people who do not know God. Not the one, true God of the Bible. They haven't experienced His love and forgiveness of their sins.

Yet, even so, I don't think God is calling me to become a missionary to Indonesia. Or Japan. I don't feel that tug on my heart. Not everyone is called to be a missionary. And I don't think I am wrong to not feel called. I don't think I am being disobedient or rebellious.

I don't feel the tug to start a clean water campaign. Or adopt orphans.

But that does not mean I haven't been changed. Or that I don't have a call.

My chiropractor had some words of wisdom between my unladylike ooffs. 

Just because we in America are blessed, doesn't mean we have to revert back 100 years or more, to be on the same playing field as undeveloped countries. All our conveniences are not bad.

But, I can be grateful. Grateful every day when I use clean water from the tap. Grateful every day when I can shower in my bathroom-not the local river. Grateful every day for my full cupboards and fridge. Grateful everyday for the washer and dryer to do my laundry.

I can pray. Pray for the missionaries who are over there serving. Pray for the unreached people. Pray for specific ways God wants me to invest over there.

I think, more than the natives, I feel called to keep investing in those little lives we invested in during conference. Those lives that also go by the moniker MKs. Those lives that also need Jesus. 

To not forget them. To get to know them more. To pray for them. To make opportunities for my kids to write and Skype them. To visit them-here and maybe even there-again.

I want to invest in the missionaries too. Continue to build these new friendships that were formed. Encourage them in tangible ways in their work.

I can be open. For God to lead me, step by step. He has a plan for me. All I have to do is be obedient. Maybe His plan is something obvious, maybe it is something I don't think it is. Maybe it is something I never would suspect.

Meres in new batik dress

all the kids hanging with the friends

chilling at the riverside one evening

Mr. Hippie and our pilot Host

magnificent pancake type things filled with chocolate. Ooh-la-la!

thinner pancakes, filled with egg

Pontianak is right on the Equator. Inside the monument

and the outside...

and the fountain outside

river car ferry

taking a river cruise

house along the river

the local KFC

river shipping, rainy afternoon

houses

bathing in the river...and brushing teeth...and taking a drink...and using the facilities...

colorful fruit stand with all our favorites-langsat, mango, limes, apples, snake fruit, hairy fruit

rice fields

More river front housing

I love you too!

new friends

where the Pontianak River meets the ocean

satay stand

straddling the Equator

The Barefoot Hippies can find a Starbucks anywhere...like the Jakarta Airport.
Thank God for good coffee and free wifi!

This is probably my last "trip" post. (I hear those sighs of relief...) Thanks for virtually taking this trip with us, and supporting us with your prayers. We felt God's presence. Without Him I would have hopped right back on the plane when we hit Jakarta. Seriously.

Did I mention we are hoping to visit Spain next year?=) Sans children. Do you have any mission trips in the offing this year? Tell me about it in the comments.

Guest Posting at Tales of Beauty for Ashes

Surprise, surprise...

I actually post less on Saturdays, than even Sundays. But, today I am breaking that normality.

This past Monday I wrote a post, Learning Curve: 10 Things this Trip Taught Me. If you haven't read it, you may want to click on over there, and see what rocked my world.

And then, you will want to click on over to Beauty for Ashes, to read about something that didn't make it to that list, but is just as pertinent. (here)

On that note, get on out of here, and have a great Saturday, friends!

Chaos Theory

Good morning, friends!

It is 7:00 here in the Eastern Time Zone, and I have been awake for 2 hours.

There is a fresh blanket of snow on the ground that fell overnight. I have declared a snow day. Really it is a still recovering from a month long trip and jet lag day. But snow day sounds pretty legit.

We are getting our bodies back on track. We took a long nap yesterday afternoon, and then everyone but Meres woke up for dinner. I went out for coffee and dessert with the bff for some good girl talk time. Mr. Hippie and the offspring were sleeping by 8:30.

bedroom chaos.

And everyone slept until 5:00 or 5:30 this morning. Pretty good, I'd say. Getting back in the groove...

When I crashed last night, I had two choices-write my post for today or ride the sleep wave. I chose to sleep while tired.

This morning, when my alarm went off, I again had two choices-write my post or feed my soul. Feeding my soul won out. I think I made the better choice both times.

dresser chaos. sigh...

So, you may get this in your inbox a little later than normal, but that is okay. I can't draw from reserves that have been drained dry.

I drank a cup of coffee and read my Bible, with my notebook and pen nearby. Not for great devotional thoughts, but to jot down lists. What needs to happen. What I need to remember.

Now I feel fed and organized. Ready to face this day.

Beautiful chairs. I wish I had a before and after. Such a wonderful surprise!

I did get a lot done yesterday. Eyebrow wax and haircut (totally have my priorities in the right order=)). Unpacking 4-1/2 of the 6 suitcases we brought. Divvying up some gifts we brought home for friends. Buying Freckles a new winter coat. (had it in Japan, and it made it to the plane for Java. It wasn't with the rest of the coats when we went to pack up in Borneo.) Mailing a package for a friend that I carried from Indo.

new floors. Pic doesn't do them justice.
They are a nice brown with the dark undertones of the wood emphasized.
And so smooth.

I was so thankful to have dinner already prepared via my good friend. I plugged in her crockpot full of chili while I napped, and it was ready when we peeled our eyes open about 5:45 last night.

Things are getting done, yet my life and house seems rather chaotic still. And I don't do chaos very well. It was a challenge for me to climb into bed, both in the afternoon and last night, and ignore the piles still surrounding me.

Today I am going to attack the chaos once more. Find a place for everything, and (theoretically) put everything in its place.

I am writing, and then I am going to literally run to the chiropractor. I need to run as our long race is only 2-1/2 months away. And I need to visit my favorite chiro to get everything unseen back in their proper places. Combining...isn't that efficient?

I am going to grocery shop for the next week and a half, so I am working on the list.

this is what Meres wore all day yesterday. Winter coat, sleeper. Bare feet. Just like her mama.

And I get to have coffee with my good friend, Ann, this afternoon. I am looking forward to a heart to heart with her. About our trip, and ministry, and life and my cheese tasting party next weekend.

Needless to say, dinner is going to be a gimme. Homemade Macaroni and Cheese. Thank you, Better Homes and Gardens cookbook! You have once again come to the rescue.

our welcome home banner

I am looking forward to cooking again. I did very little while we were gone. And, you all know how I love to cook.

I am planning a whole 2 weeks worth of recipes that do NOT include rice. I am about riced out. It is a staple in Asia, and it was great. But I am looking forward to potatoes, and couscous, and even pasta.

I am thinking of new recipes to try. I am not going to share one of my tried and true recipes with you today, but I am going to share links and pics for two mushroom soup recipes that I am thinking of incorporating into my menu in the next cycle or two.

First is a White Bean and Roasted Mushroom Soup. It sounds delicious and easy.

Recipe here

The second is a White Wine and Mushroom Soup from Gracelaced.com. (can you tell I have mushrooms on my mind?) I pinned this recipe before we left, and I am kind of glad it is wintery out still, so I can give this one a go.

recipe here

What new recipes have you tried lately? Tell me in the comments.