Go Organic..

For those of you who are starting into the organic kick I thought I’d through out some of the resources we’ve found. If you have more please throw me a comment. I’m always up for new finds!

GREAT INFO ON ORGANIC:

Organic Org: Gives good info on what organic means, how manufacturers try to trick you into thinking they are “natural” when natural can mean anything. Check it out before you go organic! http://www.organic.org/
Organic Consumers Org: Great info for people buying organic. http://www.organicconsumers.org

LOCAL GROWER’S MARKETS

Boulder Farmer’s Market: http://www.boulderfarmers.org/longmont/longmont.html
Longmont Farmer’s Market:http://www.boulderfarmers.org/longmont/longmont.html
Fort Collins Farmer’s Market: http://www.fortnet.org/market/
Local Grower’s Directory: http://www.localsustainability.net/
Local Harvest: Great for finding local growers (not just produce) really close to your home:http://www.localharvest.org/

OTHER HELPFUL INFO

Denver Door to Door Organics: We get a box delivered every week. This is a great way for busy families to get organics delivered for better prices than you get at King Soopers and Safeway. It’s great produce too compared to the grocery store which typically doesn’t last the whole week. These are great people and deliver an exceptional product. They do produce and are starting to offer other organic groceries. You can get different sized boxes and call the frequency. Your prices even go down if you can get your neighbors to join in too. http://www.denver.doortodoororganics.com

Colorado Organic Producers Associations: Good information on this website.http://www.organiccolorado.org/

10 reasons I love my husband

1. He loves Jesus, even more than he loves me, and Jordan. This creates the foundation of our marriage. I can’t ask for a more perfect soul mate .
2. He loves me, more than I dreamed I could be loved, and he lets me know it even when I’m unlovable. He never complains when I analyze things to the nth degree or have to talk things all the way out, even at 4AM.  
3. He loves Jordan. Really loves her, even when she can be unlovable. It’s adorable watching them play and pretend together. He’s more creative than any dad I’ve known.
4. He never sweats the small stuff. He knows God’s in control.
5. He never belittles me when he knows I should rely on God more. Instead he prays patiently, he listens, he loves me through it.
6. He is a great listener!
7. He’s an incredible cook. We are so blessed to all like the same tastes, but thank you God for giving me a man that can cook!
8. He loves chick flicks. That might be just to get me in the mood, but if so he’s certainly doesn’t show it.
9. He loves to exercise, eat right (with a bit of cheating here and there), and works to be healthy.
10. He’s willing to follow his passion to teach in the ministry versus the corporate grind (which is way easier btw).

The coolest gift ever…

Ok so for the past couple of  years Joe and I have been trying to cut down on  the buying at Christmas. We’ve been getting the kids gifts but all in all we are trying to focus more on the season. *smile* So Joe totally outdid himself this year. He got me a Nike+ Ipod shoe setup. I was totally blown away. It’s cute…both of us have a really hard time waiting to give each other gifts. Well this one I actually had to try on the shoes.

This thing is sooo cool! So I’ve never really run much with music because I didn’t have a player before. Now I’m hooked. I have great music and this really nice guy reading me my stats as I run. Then when I’m done I actually sync and everything automatically uploads to my nike+ portal account so I can keep track of all my stats. I’d been doing this manually before with the Google pedometer and the runner’s world portal but this is all automated and totally rad. So now I’m even motivated to run in the cold.

Check it out…and you can even keep an eye to really see I keep running here:

http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/?l=runners,runs,552538697

What defines me?

I’m working in my office (I work from home) waiting on some of my peers at work to join a conference call. Jordan and Joe are in the living room right below my office. She’s giggling as Joe tickles her tummy. I love the sound of her laugh. It’s so innocent…full of joy. I could have the worst day and it all seems to melt away with the sound of her laugh. I find that amazing, and evidence to God working in my life. 

“And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your marital status, defines your life.” 1 Corinthians 7:17 (MSG)

*smile* Reading that verse made me feel comfort and sent chills all at the same time. No matter my circumstance I can know I’m where I’m supposed to be. To some that might seem frightening, especially if you’d have some difficult circumstance recently. For me lately, despite some of my circumstance it’s intensely comforting. I’m protected, unconditionally loved. Some how there is peace even when circumstance is anything but peace-full.  

I attended a women’s retreat in Estes Park this weekend. It was the best retreat I’ve ever been too. 80 Christian women nestled in the mountains in cabins worshipping God. I’ve never experience anything so moving and intense, yet comforting and relaxing all at once. Hearing me say that might seem odd to a bystander, after hearing our conversation because a lot of the topics circled around pain and the things of this world we can’t control. We’re women. I want to know, to understand, to control. But with God a lot of the pain and circumstance I fight with I can’t know, I won’t ever understand or control it. As a Christian part of becoming more mature is persevering (to get too, I have to go through) and finding joy where ever I am…even if I can’t  understand why it’s happening or when it will end.

I wonder…if I were to die today, what would people say defined my life? I would hope some, at least those close to me would say God, however I can imagine a lot of people would say my work, my family, my drive or motivation, goals. I’m a do’er. I’m realizing at 36, that I no longer want to be a do’er. It’s not that I don’t like doing, I’m just realizing it’s not really my purpose in life. It’s not how I want my life defined. I’m here for one purpose..and one purpose only. To worship my maker. He is who defines my life, down to the hairs on my head and the last breath I take. I want to learn to live, and obey, and love, and believe right here, where God has me, every second of the day.

Lord please help me to bow my life…my will to you every second of my day, no matter my circumstance. I want to learn what it’s like to worship you with my life. 

 

Bionic kick butt…

Ok, so there is something about a good kick butt girl show!

I actually despise TV these days but I caught a glimpse of the new Bionic Woman premier tonight as my husband flipped channels. I liiikkkeeeddd it aaaa looooot. My husband did bring up a good point though. There isn’t much originality anymore. I wonder if hollywood has just realized there has to be some familiar for a flick to be successful… but at the same time there has to be this futuristic twist to the familiar. I also wonder by the number of cop shows, investigation detail and kick butt topics if we are all not searching for someone to save us. *smile* I don’t really like violence, just the “saving the world part” I think. I always root for the good guy…or girl. If anything you have to love girls fighting in heels!!

I used to like Alias with Jennifer Garner, and it got a little old. Still love her personality. She has this passive, mystery about her while on the opposite end trouble rings and she has no problem kicking butt. I know….cheesy to some but I think everyone has a little hope that challenges reality sometimes. LAF!

Cool new running toys…

Ok..so you know I’m a geek. These are dream toys for the runner. Ok..say you wouldn’t like to have them!

Garmin has a killer new GPS/trainer that’s now the real size of a watch…no more strapping the brick to your wrist. Check out the Forerunner.

Or for those tune freaks …this is pretty cool as well. Nike has a line which has a sensor which talks to your IPOD to record all your major running stats (pace, distance, and calories) plus put your playlists together to help you with your peek workout spots.  You can even have voice read you your stats throughout your workout.

They even have tops that hold your IPOD… laf

Oh..and with running 15-20 miles a week you might need a massage regularly or even better…my chiropractor has one of these babies.. I’m starting to think one of these in the living room would be JUST what I need to watch football with my hubby and while I read during the week. Of course my husband would likely have to have one too.

My Loves continued…

So I decided to take a count of some of the simple pleasures I enjoy in life… Some of these, ah I mean MOST of these I could easily do without, but they somehow contribute to my quirkiness and joy in doing life now… These are in rambling order…not necessarily by importance.
 

1. Gadgets – Ok, so I’m a geek at heart. It’s been a bit harder since I can’t buy them like I used too being a mom and all. Money has to go to more important things. But I still love computers, electronics, anything that requires some challenge to configure and work, especially things that can make me more productive. Sounds weird right. Like I don’t have an ipod yet even though I love music. But I’ve had a blackberry for 7 years. My blackberry helps me be efficient. I have one easy device to make calls, keep my address book, my calendar, and email, web, directions, messaging, chat, all wirelessly whenever I need it. For a full time working mom that wants to spend every bit of time with my daughter and family it really comes in handy. I love the iphone…but I just couldn’t bring myself to want one because it won’t help me much..it’s just cool and expensive. Hee hee..so becoming a mom I’ve become a practical gadget girl. Anything gadgetry that will save me money or make me more efficient I love. Like the Apple TV. I’m thinking about that one more and more. We watch movies all the time, and over and over. I just bought a new RAID NAS to keep our gigs of pictures of Jordan and for all our backups. Has full mirroring for redundancy and network availably. Saves me having to build a whole server to store stuff. When Jordan was born we got into a nice Cannon camera for pictures which has really paid off. Joe and I have both gotten into the photography thing more and more since then. I have noticed one thing…gadgets take time and my attention. One reason why I’ve really been drawn to stick to things that help me save time and help my family. Even though I love tinkering with gadgets the fun is often short lived unless it brings something to my life that drives some longevity.
    
2. Natural Health --  I’ve grown to love natural health alternatives. Natural health is a mentality that focuses on working with the natural recuperative powers of the human body to prevent illness and disease. It’s a complement to conventional medicine as it’s more focused on the building up of health rather than on fighting disease.  Natural health promotes eating healthy food, taking nutritional supplements where required to balance individual nutritional needs (ie. the worn out mom going 90mph), and reaping the benefits of physical exercise and proper sleep. If you are looking for ways to embracing natural health check out this site:  http://naturalcures.com/. One note on this subject. There is pockets of controversy around eastern versus western medicine techniques. You will note quickly some of the sales efforts to try and get you to believe one way or another. If you really take the time to read and educate yourself to both worlds I believe you can easily the benefit of both. That means like other topics you have to find people you trust with the knowledge to learn from or you have to learn it yourself. I’ve found both and have embraced both sides of medicine culture. Overall my goal is to do my best to keep me and my family healthy.
    

My Loves…

I decided to jot down a few things I’ve grown to love in the last 36 years. Some are incredibly simple pleasures I could easily live without but somehow provide a little uniqueness to me.  So have a laugh, and get to know my quirkiness.

Of course my greatest loves are my family…Meet, Joe, Jordan, Bailey and Deon.

Joe…..
My husband is 5 years older than me but if you ask anyone they would assume he’s easily 10 years younger th an I am. He has the energy and passion of a 25 year old with the wisdom and knowledge of a seasoned veteran. We met almost 10 years ago. My initial attraction for him was definitely his heart for Christ. He was leading a Bible study I joined in Grapevine Texas. He’ll laugh when you ask him how he discovered I’d fallen for him. I actually kissed him one night pretty much out of the blue. As you can imagine he was a bit surprised. We have been together since. We are both computer geeks. That was another big bonus when we met. He could actually understand my geeky nature. *smile* Ok, is it so hard to believe SQL actually turns a girl on? *laf* We still get a kick out of that.

It’s been almost 10 years since then. Joe has since completed his masters in seminary, started his own business, and recently taken the much awaited plunge to leave the secular business world and follow his true passion for teaching God’s word. My respect for him and his calling has grown immensely these past few years. I’m learning little by little what it’s like to be a pastor’s wife which is taking some patience on Joe’s part. Let’s just say I’m far from the typical pastor’s wife. *insert laugh* There is nothing about full time ministry for the faint at heart. These folks are truly the most passionate, hard working people I’ve ever met. You will hear more of his new role as teaching pastor at Northern Hills Christian Church in upcoming posts.

One of my favorite things about Joe is his creative nature. Coupled with his child like love for new experiences I’m constantly being inspired to try new things or push past my comfort zone which I love.  He’s a fantastic balance to me. In 5 years of marriage we’ve come to greatly leverage our ability to complement each other and that in turn kept the passion alive in our marriage. Lately our love has been for all things outside. See more on our adventures on my flickr album.

Jordan…
This has become my husband and I’d greatest love. Jordan will be 2 years old on October 9^th. I can’t believe it’s been two years. Having a baby with my husband was by far the greatest milestone and experience of both our lives. We both relive the wow factor every day with how incredible of a blessing she is to us. Jordan is truly a mix of the best of us so far. Her extroverted personality is the first thing you notice and it’s totally Joe. Everywhere we go she makes friends. She’s a great ice breaker to the stranger we meet at every location we encounter.  She’s also quite the analytic kid like me. She walked quite late watching all the other kids to learn before she even tried. One day at around 19 months she just stood up and walked. Within 3 days she was cruising like she’d been walking for months. You will see a lot more of Jordan in my posts and flickr album.

Bailey…
Bailey is our 11 year old greyhound. She’s a retired racer named Cadillaction. We fostered her a little over 3 years ago and just couldn’t see her being adopted by anyone else. She’s a velcro dog. Soft as velvet and sweet as ever. We adopted her from Rocky Mountain Greyhound Association which is one of several greyhound adoption agencies in the Denver area. I’ve always had a love for big dogs, but greyhounds are the best breed for children due to their typically gentle nature. The older retired racers are typically big couch potatoes but love to do a dash at the dogpark a few times a week. If you ve ever considered adopting a dog, look into a retired greyhound. They are fantastic loving dogs.

Deon…
Beyond Primetime was his race name. He was our first retired racer adoption 4 years ago. It just seemed fitting that we adopt Deon since we had just moved from Dallas to Denver and the Cowboys are my husband’s favorite NFL team. Deon is 9 now and still quite spunky in between his couch potato moments. Oh that’s another good thing typically about greyhounds. They are not big furniture dogs so we have beds for them on every floor of our house. *smile* Yes they are a little spoiled, but you can’t help it they are so sweet.