Giving: Day 2

We went to Half-Price Books today and bought some gently used books (with a gift card from one of my students -- holla teacher appreciation!)for kids at the children's hospital today. Turns out they only take NEW books, but we were still able to donate our books to The Cottage next door, which supports families at the hospital. It was a small step in giving, but a big one for us. Just seeing a few sick kids at the hospital was enough to make me thankful for my perfectly healthy children (even as they argued like an old married couple in the parking lot on the way out). My favorite part of the day had to be Mia walking around the hospital saying we were "super godly." Oh my, do I have my work cut out for me.

Month 3: Giving

Well, I'm considering the clothing month a bust. I had a really bad attitude from the beginning about wearing just 7 items of clothing. And I cheated. A LOT. And I was stinky. On the whole, I was pretty uninspired, hence the lack of blogging. But I did take away two things: 1. I really don't need a lot of what's in my closet (time to purge!) and 2. I appreciate wearing my This girl has Bieber Fever shirt a heck of a lot more than I used to. Dave = not happy about this development. 

So, let's jump to month 3: Giving. The challenge is to give away 7 things a day, which is a total of 200-something things in a month. I could do this fairly easily, as I LOVE to get rid of things, but of course there's a catch. The author tells us we can't just drop our stuff off at Goodwill. Rather, we should try to find actual people to hand our stuff to. Yikes. Everybody knows how much I dislike going OTB, so to think that I'm going to drag my tukus around this city to find some people in need makes me panic a bit. I think I need that push, though. Especially when Jack says, "There aren't any homeless people in Corpus Christi." Oops. Apparently I haven't exposed him to enough. 

So Sunny and I tweak this experiment a bit by challenging ourselves to find 7 different organizations or people to give our things to. I started looking online and am excited about all the prospects. And if I can cart the kids in town 7 times over this month to experience 7 places/people with needs, then I think I'll have honored the intention of the experiment. 

Mia kicked the giving off today by donating her beautiful hair to Locks of Love. I am so proud of her! 

Gruene with the G-parents

Had a lovely weekend at Gruene with Jim & Travis. They invited us to celebrate their anniversary with them, which we did by shopping, chillaxing and eating (❤you, Gristmill!). The weather was pretty perfect, too. Thankful for a wonderful family and a much needed getaway.

Next month: Clothing

Since this month is winding down, I thought I'd better start looking ahead to next month. So I read chapter 2 in 7 this morning over coffee, and started thinking about what 7 articles of clothing I might choose to wear in May. This is what I have so far: 

two t-shirts

one work shirt

one pair of shorts (thank you, casual dress code!) 

 bathing suit (I know--it's super cute, right?)

one pair of workout pants 

flip flops

tennies 

Now, before you ask, I get unlimited underwear (woo hoo!) and my two pairs of shoes count as one article (don't ask me why, but that's how Jen Hatmaker did it, so that's that). 

I had a strong urge this morning to buy a couple of new shirts for the experiment, so I could at least feel extra cute for a few days, but since that's the total antithesis of what we're trying to do here, I won't. :) 

And we don't get accessories, but here's my question: Are sunglasses accessories or necessities? Because I personally think we should get to wear them. 

Glow Dance, Holla!

I chaperoned my first dance today. I use the word "chaperone" loosely, as all I did was stand around and chat up other parents while pretending not to see our children (hyped up on ice cream) going wild. I also use the word "dance" loosely, as there was very little dancing going on. Glowing, running, chasing, sword fighting, and twirling, maybe, but no dancing. I loved it. Thanks, Jackson, for still being the kind of kid who lets his mother come to his middle school dance.

Food Diary: Day 14

Foods I almost ate today:

1. Jack's homemade tortilla chips (saturated in oil and drenched in yumminess)
2. Grilled cheese crusts (buttery and crunchy)
3. Tater tots (self-explanatory)

This craving for something GREASY really chipped at my resolve today. Am thankful I made it through the weekend, but am thinking the second half of this month is definitely going to be tougher than the first.

Food Diary: Day 9

5:00 a.m. Wake up from dream about restaurants refusing to serve me food. Get angry that I can't even DREAM about eating fun food anymore. 

5:10 a.m. Coffee & Bible time. Come across this passage in 2 Corinthians on giving: "You show your gratitude through your generous offerings to your needy brothers and sisters, and really toward everyone." 

5:30 a.m. Start thinking about how we could really use some chairs in our living room and immediately surf Ikea website. 

5:40 a.m. Realize the irony of the situation and force myself to reread Bible passage. 

6:50 a.m. Fried egg for breakfast. Yum. 

11:20 a.m. Red beans & rice for lunch, plus a bag of carrots. Double yum. 

4:00 p.m. Finish off red beans & rice for dinner. 

4:30 p.m. Hit balls with Jack. Have new energy on these 7 foods and am excited about maybe FINALLY taking up golf as a hobby (I've only had my unused clubs in the garage for 11 YEARS!!). 

6:00 p.m. Yoga. Namaste. 

7:30 p.m. Giant Honey Crisp apple. 

8:30 p.m. Looking forward to a good sleep and (if I'm lucky) food-filled dreams. 

Food Diary: Day 7

If I make it through today, I will have made it through a week on my 7 foods! All I can think about right now is...why have I not lost more weight? This is the healthiest I have EVER eaten, and I expected to have dropped about 10 lbs. by now. 

Vanity aside, I feel good. Am clear-headed, have lots of energy, and I just feel cleaner with fewer processed foods in me. 

Current craving: cheese. And a glass of wine wouldn't be half bad, either.