LADDventure

Nightstand Reviews - March 2014

I've been an absolute book monster lately!  I read ravenously and quickly, and just can't get enough.  I think writing my own book has left me with such an appreciation for how much work goes into a well crafted sentence, and I just want to read all of the things. 

Harold was our March book club selection, and it was one of those books which is a little bit tedious, but something about it keeps pushing you forward to finish it.  It's the story of a British man on a mission to walk from one end of England to the other in order for his unfinished life's business and what he discovers about life along the way.  It's a bit like a slow motion Forrest Gump, but it was also one of those books which was great to talk about in book club, because the more we talked about it, the more meaning we found in it, and it grew on us. 

It really is a very endearing, thought provoking story about life and loss and what shapes us and our relationships.  It's about getting out of our mundane lives and wandering lost for a bit to find our way back to our truest selves. 

 

 

 

This is our April book club selection, and messages are already flying back and forth about how much we all love it.  This book is amazing and makes me want to read everything John Green has ever written.  It's the story of 16 year old, Hazel Grace Lancaster, a three-year stage IV–cancer survivor, and  Augustus Waters, a fellow cancer survivor, who she falls in love with.  The story is so compelling, and the writing just hits you in the gut, with it's observations on life told through the eyes of a brilliant 16 year old with a perspective only terminal illness can give you.  I finished this in about two days and cannot recommend it enough. 

It's also been made into a movie coming out this June.  I dare you to watch this trailer and not tear up...

 

 

I just finished Wild this week, and I loved it also.  I'm realizing now that I've read two stories lately about individuals who head off on some sort of walking/hiking pilgrimage to find themselves.  Sensing a theme.  This is the true story of Cheryl Strayed, who heads out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail alone after her life has fallen apart.  It's a great read about finding yourself and what you're capable of on an adventure, and will make you want to go to REI every time you read it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Currently On My Nightstand

I'm still working through Winter's Tale.  It's a long one, but I'm determined because I really want to see the movie, but am a stickler for finishing the book first.

Savoring one chapter at a time of Packing Light.  Knowing Ally personally, and having heard so much of her story, it's awesome to see it come to life in her lovely book.

I had to pick up Allegiant and know how the Divergent Series ends.  Easy Y.A. read.

Check out my Nightstand Reviews - Best of 2013 Edition for more book recommendations.

Friends in First Places

photo credit:  LoveFeast Table

I had coffee with a new-ish friend yesterday. I've known her a little over a year, but she's one of those people who I've instantly clicked with and is good for my soul, because I feel like she just gets me. She moved into a new house a while back, and things have been crazy busy for her, but she just texted me the other day to ask me over for coffee. She's adorable, and so is her new house, and I was excited to get the grand tour and see how she's made it a home.  She showed me the dining room chairs she had just painted, and the top of the console table she planned to paint the same color.  I saw the spaces where she creates, where her children sleep, and had coffee in the kitchen where she has hers every morning. 

There is something sacred about inviting someone into your space.  One of my favorite authors, Shauna Niequist, talks about how we have become 'the third place' generation.  We meet in a third place outside of one another's homes usually.  We tend to prefer the coffee shop, out for dinner, or happy hour drinks to gatherings at home.  But, there is something different and more true about meeting in our first places - in our kitchens and living rooms.  Inviting our friends to share coffee at the same table our kids do their homework after school, preparing a little something for them with our own two hands, or like my friend did, stopping by the bakery for two perfectly gooey cinnamon rolls to indulge in together while taking an hour and a half to talk about life.

It's not just that it connects us to each other.  It really does connect us to our truest and humblest selves.  Nothing humbles you like being vulnerable enough to share your dust bunnies and the inside of your fridge with a friend.  We have no choice but to drop our masks and leave perfect at the door, whether we're the one being invited in or the one doing the inviting.  I want my friendships to look more like this; real connection in real ways over simply being willing to let each other in.  So thanks for the coffee Kristin, and for the record, I didn't see one dust bunny and the inside of your fridge was lovely. 

This post is also included in the Gathered Thoughts Link Party.  All participating bloggers have shared a post based on a quote from one of LoveFeast Table's lovely Gathered Thoughts Box.  Head on over to check out the other posts, and enter for your chance to wine a Gathered Thoughts Box of your own or this great spiral journal set.

How I Meal Plan

I work from home, and am lucky enough to have lots of flexibility built into that arrangement.  You would think that means I always have a spotlessly clean house and four course meals on the table every night, but you would be wrong.   I'm very much still figuring out a system to tackle all the household tasks that need to get done.  First and foremost on that neverending list is grocery shopping/meal planning, and through lots of trial and error, I think I've come up with a pretty good system. While I am no Betty Crocker, my system has definitely improved from my days of teaching full time, during which it was a small miracle that food magically made it into our pantry and fridge and eventually ended up on a paper towel in the microwave plate for dinner.  Here's what's working for us right now:

List making and grocery shopping on Thursdays

Shopping on Thursdays works best for me for a few reaons.   First, the stores tend to have just switched their sales (usually on Wed.), so there is a big selection of sale items available.  Second, I can pick up anything special I might need for weekend gatherings or events since plans are already in place.  I also avoid the weekend or Monday crowds. Bonus - my favorite cashier always works Thursdays.  She is a sweet older lady who's fun to talk to and always makes sure my chips and bread don't get smushed.

Shopping primarily at Target

We have a Super Target in town with a full grocery.  It's so great to take a swing through cute shoes and Nate Berkus' latest collection at the same place I buy deodorant and olives. We do supplement with a few bulk items at Sam's/Costco once a month and fresh produce from the farmer's market occasionally, but for the most part it's a one stop shop, which is very convenient and makes grocery shopping less of a chore.  I also combine their online coupons with the Cartwheel app on my phone.  This week, I saved $19 between those two things.

The grocery notebook

I have a specific notebook that's just for grocery shopping.  I use this one (also found at Target).  It seems to be the perfect size and has two different pockets to keep coupons together.  Every week I open up to a new two page spread.  On the left, I plan meals for the week based on what we already have on hand, what's on sale, etc.  I also do not plan a new meal for every night.  I schedule leftovers, dinners out, or even a frozen pizza right in there.  I also use that space to write down any other recipes I might want to make like banana bread, or a new dessert.  Doing this meal planning first helps me make sure I include any ingredients I need on my list.  On the right I make my list using a four corners method.  I do this so it can all fit on one page by grocery store area.  For example, I might start my dairy list in the upper left corner and meat in the upper right going down, but then produce in the lower left and dry goods in the lower right going up.  This is a little OCD I will admit, but it really makes grocery shopping go faster and ensures I don't forget things.

One person in control of the budget and shopping

I'm responsible for the groceries around these parts.  While Mr. Ladd will certainly run to the store for a few things every once in a while, we find it's easier for one person to primarily take care of it.  We have a set grocery/household budget, and every other week on payday, I take that amount of cash out for the next two weeks.  This has been a huge help in staying on budget and not just throwing random things in the cart.  It's easy (especially when you find cute things at Target) for that grocery bill to creep up, but this really helps.

Being flexible

Lest you think I am an organized control freak when it comes to planning our meals, this is all very flexible, and nothing is set in stone. If we spontaneously decide to order take out instead of making tacos, I just make the tacos the next night.  And, sometimes we're just not in the mood for whatever's on the menu so I keep quick things like quinoa, pasta, and even that frozen pizza on hand.

I hope some of these ideas are helpful for you, and I'd love to hear what you do to organize your grocery shopping and meal planning.  I'm always looking for suggestions in this area.  Also, Kelsey from Rising*Shining and I are always talking about this topic, and we get into it in this episode of The Girl Next Door Podcast.

Do You Roku?

When I quit my teaching job to pursue writing full time, we made some changes.  We looked for ways to cut down our monthly expenses and financial obligations to make for some more breathing room in our now one-income budget.  One of the areas we did that was in our TV/Satellite bill by switching to a less conventional option, and it's had the added side effect of bringing more simplicity and less wasted time to our lives. We get a lot of questions about our current setup, so I thought I'd let you know how it's working for us.

We were formerly with Direct TV and paying about $120 a month with no premium channels but the NFL Sunday Ticket (gotta watch my Packers on Sunday) included.  When I type that number it seems ludicrous to me.  Because now we pay $16 a month.  Here's how:

We have a digital HD antenna which gets us all the network and local TV stations right through our TV with a better signal than we even had with the satellite, seriously.

We also have a Roku box which provides internet based streaming television on our TV.  It's the same concept as Apple TV.  On the box there are channels like Hulu (which we pay $8/month for the HuluPlus subscription to watch our favorite shows when we have time) and Netflix (another $8/month).  There also is all kinds of other channels on the Roku like Pandora, Amazon, and Vudu for renting movies, playing music, etc.  I just love that little black box.

F.A.Q. 

How much was the digital antenna and the Roku box?

There was an initial one time investment of $100 for the digital antenna and $40 for the Roku box.  Those paid for themselves within the first two months of saving by not paying a monthly Direct TV bill.

Are there channels you can't get?

Yes, currently some of my former favorites like Bravo and HGTV don't have Roku channnels, and don't have shows on Hulu, but I can buy all the Bravo shows a la carte on Amazon for like $3 an episode.  This allows me to still binge watch my Real Housewives of (name the city), but I've found I actually enjoy those guilty pleasures more when it's not just on mindlessly in the background, but I am intentionally sitting down to watch something.  You can find pretty much every episode of any show a la carte on Amazon.  That's how we watch The Walking Dead.  Even if we buy whole seasons of certain shows, it's still way less than $120/month and we're not obligated for that amount each month.

What about The NFL Sunday Ticket?

We've done this a couple different ways since we've made the switch.  The first year, Sony had a deal with Direct T.V. where you could get it through the Playstation 3 and so we did it that way.  This past year, if you bought Madden 25, it came with a code to get The Sunday Ticket again for only about $100 for the game and the NFL Sunday Ticket.

Do you miss satellite or cable?

Not one bit.  Seriously.  I am more surprised by this than anyone.  I love TV and was very hesitant to give up our more traditional set up.  I will never be one of those extremists who don't own a TV and are militant about not letting their kids watch it.  I see nothing wrong with a little unwinding in front of a favorite show, but this is a small change that has made a big difference in our budget and free time, and I actually enjoy it even more now.

 photo credit: abeckstrom via photopin cc

Adoption Update #2

Friday we had our initial intake appointment/home visit with the adoption agency we chose.  I was extremely nervous leading up to it, but tried to just channel all that nervous energy into cleaning like a crazy woman.  Mr. Ladd was playing it cool, which totally helped me, although as you can see he was anxiously awaiting the meeting as well. The adoption supervisor told me on the phone that there would be no need to prepare and this wasn't an inspection or anything; that they just liked to do the first meeting in the home to get to know us in our environment a little bit.  But you try to have the first meeting with the people that make you parents and try not to clean as if a white glove inspection was taking place.

As with most things though, the nerves were for naught, because it went fabulously!  Our dogs were incredibly well behaved, which was another worry of mine because they can be a bit crazy with new people, and we actually really enjoyed the meeting. One of the main purposes of this visit was to go over all the requirements and make sure we were clear on next steps.  The more we learned about the requirements, the more at ease we actually were that the necessary steps were very doable, and that we had definitely picked the right agency.  They offer tons of support throughout the whole process.  We really liked the adoption supervisor, even chatting with him for an hour past when our appointment was scheduled to be over, and he told us he was really excited about us and didn't think we'd be waiting too long for a placement.  Seriously the only thing we learned that was a bummer is we definitely will have to be putting up a wrought iron pool fence. It's an agency requirement, and the removable mesh ones won't cut it, which means our yard will be sporting a bit more of the prison chic look, but if that's the biggest disapointment for now, we'll take it.  Plus, in the long run, a sturdy pool fence will provide some extra peace of mind, I'm sure.

So, next steps...

A pool fence guy is coming out to talk with us about specifics and requirements and what we can do for our space.

We start 12 weeks of required PS-MAPP training classes mid-June.  They will be once a week for 3 hours each week, and we need to get the following in before then:

• Agency application
• Fingerprint Clearance Card
• Criminal History
• Counseling Release
• Income Verification
• Guardian Form
• Copies of marriage license, birth certificates, passports, driver's licenses, rabies vaccinations and licenses for dogs, auto registration, and insurance

We get physicals, and do a bunch more paperwork and tell our whole life stories basically in our personal profiles (Good thing I'm a writer) while going through training.

Within 60 days of completing our training classes we'll have our final home visit and inspections completed, and hopefully be certified and ready to accept placements.

We are really excited, and it's definitely more real now that our to-do list is tangible! 

We'd love for you to join us on our journey to adopt (hopefully two siblings) from foster care.  I'll be keeping everyone updated via the blog since I'm sure I will run out of time along the way to individually share details with everyone.  If you'd like to follow along for what's sure to be an interesting story, make sure to sign up for all the latest posts by just entering your email address and hitting subscribe in the upper right corner of the blog.

The Photo Challenge Next Door - February

The goal of this photo was just to capture an ordinary sunset in our neighborhood.  I was playing around with the lighting and wanted to focus on the sky with the houses and trees silhouetted.  I did this just by adjusting the ISO, and basically achieved the effect I was going for, so that's something.

I was in San Diego for the Storyline Conference and forgot to schedule my post ahead of time, so my Februrary photo is a few days late.  Kelsey from Rising*Shining and I have been busy working on The Girl Next Door Podcast and are having a blast with it!  But, we also wanted to revive our monthly photo challenge where we're turning our cameras to manual mode and not looking back.  My camera has been rather neglected the last couple months, but I'm excited to get back to experimenting and learning with it.  Spring in the desert is just beautiful, so it's the perfect time to snap some pics.

Check out the rest of my monthly photos so far here, and Kelsey's photos right here.