So last week I was approached by the "Go Green" Committee at one of my jobs and asked to join. This really flattered me because it's a very big concern for me and maybe they saw that I ride my bike to work. Unfortunately though, my AmeriCorps year of service ends in just over a month so I won't be staying long. However, I would really like to contribute some good ideas for the committee while I can. So far there's pretty much just little stickers by light switches asking people to turn off the lights when they leave the room.
Does anybody have any ideas for how a typical office workplace can "go green"? It's challenging since we have a few offices throughout the city so we're pretty decentralized. It makes education/awareness trickier. But we have an Executive Director who would get behind a good idea, especially if it would save money.
-Michael
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Our Best Discovery of 2010
"Where is our comfort but in the free, uninvolved, finally mysterious beauty and grace of this world that we did not make, that has no price? Where is our sanity but there? Where is our pleasure but in working and resting kindly in the presence of this world?"
Fennel?
-Wendell Berry
One unique aspect of the geography of San Diego that I've noticed and begun to love is all of the canyons throughout parts of the city. Growing up just an hour north of here I'm familiar with much of the landscape, but these canyons are new to me. In much of the city it seems like just about every inch of space is used for humans. Even if it's "green space" it's for the use of people, featuring neatly groomed non-native plants and grass needing tons of water; water that we import from hundreds of miles away. Green space is artificial and safe. But then there are these useless canyons that seem to be inconveniently right in the middle of everything. In most parts of the city they seem to be left undeveloped, raising property value and nourishing my soul whenever I see them.
However, Pamela and I live in the most densely populated neighborhood in San Diego which also has the least "green space". Here many of the banks are paved with cement to allow streets and houses to be built alonside them, and grungy apartments sit at the bottom of the canyons. Pamela and I both long to encounter nature so we often go on outings on the weekends to hike. When we don't have the time or will to drive somewhere, it can be tiring to not be able to escape. Then, back in January, on a walk in our neighborhood we discovered a trail that wound straight through the middle of an undeveloped canyon right by our house. We were astonished that we hadn't found it sooner and that it wasn't riddled with trash. Pamela immediately declared it to be our "best discovery of January". When we reached the end of the trail and discovered an additonal little path that led down to a small stream completely surrounded by lush trees and bushes, she upped the classification to the "best discovery of 2010." Easily.
The trail isn't long, but it's a sanctuary for us. On our walks we find respite from the noise, listen to the birds, watch for rabbits, and pay attention to the native plants. There are so many wildflowers still blooming. We pick sage to cook with, and yesterday I'm nearly certain I found fennel as well.
Fennel?
Friday, April 23, 2010
Topics of Interest.
We are terrible bloggers. I like to blame it on not having internet at home... but when you consider the amount of time I waste online at work everyday, it's really not a legitimate excuse. Anyway, by way of catch up here is a little list of things we WOULD blog about, but haven't gotten to.
Current Topics of Interest in the (Schnake-)Kolbas Home:
-Adventures in home-making: cheese making, yogurt making, bread making, granola making, home-made fallafel. papusas, pad thai... the list goes on...
-Adventures in gardening: green-horn mistakes and the benefit of starting out SMALL.
-Wendell Berry's the Art of the Commonplace essay collection. (hmmm are we noticing a bit of theme here?)
-LOST Season 3 (ok, so I wouldn't write a whole blog post about it, but it's definitely a current topic of interest)
-Exploring San Diego County hiking - successes and failures.
-Using non-gendered pronouns for God. Freedom and struggle within feminist theology.
-Paradigms of power within: the Church, the Food Industry, and the non-profit world.
-Dumpster diving.
-Plants of San Diego: Introduced species. Edible wild plants. And SOIL.
Unfortunately photography hasn't been among the topics of interest so I don't have any nice pictures to spice up this post... Since it is unlikely that I will ever get to the blog posts that could be written on each of these topics, feel free to ask me personally if any of them spark your interest! I'm better at one-on-one conversations these days anyway.
love,
Pamela
Current Topics of Interest in the (Schnake-)Kolbas Home:
-Adventures in home-making: cheese making, yogurt making, bread making, granola making, home-made fallafel. papusas, pad thai... the list goes on...
-Adventures in gardening: green-horn mistakes and the benefit of starting out SMALL.
-Wendell Berry's the Art of the Commonplace essay collection. (hmmm are we noticing a bit of theme here?)
-LOST Season 3 (ok, so I wouldn't write a whole blog post about it, but it's definitely a current topic of interest)
-Exploring San Diego County hiking - successes and failures.
-Using non-gendered pronouns for God. Freedom and struggle within feminist theology.
-Paradigms of power within: the Church, the Food Industry, and the non-profit world.
-Dumpster diving.
-Plants of San Diego: Introduced species. Edible wild plants. And SOIL.
Unfortunately photography hasn't been among the topics of interest so I don't have any nice pictures to spice up this post... Since it is unlikely that I will ever get to the blog posts that could be written on each of these topics, feel free to ask me personally if any of them spark your interest! I'm better at one-on-one conversations these days anyway.
love,
Pamela
Friday, January 29, 2010
Just Getting Started.
There is a lot about Michael and my life that is just getting started: our marraige, our "careers," our home together. In all of these things Michael and I hope to live lives of simplicity, peace, and justice. However, that too, as with everything else, is just getting started. This is a post about what that looks like for us.
I believe that God has invited each of us to be made new, and to live into God's kingdom of peace and justice. However, this is not something that can happen all at once. Although I believe we are "empowered by the Spirit of God" to live in this kingdom of peace, there is also the reality that it doesn't come naturally, and it will be a long process, a journey of slow, but hopefully constant change, and frequent failure. I strongly believe that this life should be joyful, if not easy, and in that vein Michael and I have taken small steps toward simple and Just living instead of immediately trying to implement every single thing possible. This is humbling, and it means that we have to live with that uncomfortable element of ambivalence, but it also means that we know where we are heading and what we are moving towards without getting burned out or judgemental (since there are examples of people making bigger changes than we are).
(The farmers market flowers with daisies and ferns from our backyard that we used for our wedding are my "joy in simplicity" visual for this post.)
Here are a few little examples of how we are starting out.
Just Eating: There are a lot of things about our current system of food production that are unjust and unsustainable. A LOT. There are a lot of things we don't do that we know would be good, but here are a few things that we have chosen to be our starting point for food justice.
-Organic fair-trade coffee. We don't eat entirely organic or even, at this point, mostly organic, because it is a lot more expensive. But after passing several months between the two of us in Peru, Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Argentina, where we personally knew coffee farmers and saw the affects of this industry on individuals and on land, we do our best to be consistent about supporting fair-trade organic coffee (rainforest alliance cirtified when possible). We plan to move toward more organic food especially based around certain products as we learn their particular importance.
-Making our own bread. We bought a bread machine for $4 at a Thrift Store. Making our own bread is inexpensive, delicious, and FUN. Once or twice a week we sit on our couch in anticipation of warm fresh bread. Then when the bread machine beeps we rush into the kitchen to slice off big pieces and smother them with butter and jam. Mmmmm... Plus, we are closer to our food production and use a little bit less plastic.
- Less meat and milk. Again, this is an easy choice for us. It is cheaper, healthier, and better for the environment and world food sustainability. Plus, I prefer soy milk to regular milk. And there are tons of wonderful ethnic meals that don't require any meat. My thinking is to try to find a balance of eating in a way that would be possible for every person on earth to eat if somehow resources were equally distributed. We have discovered that the less we eat meat, the less we desire it. Eventually we may head to a fully vegetarian diet, but right now I have to admit find a lot of joy in the occassional burger or chicken in my pasta.
- Starting a garden. This is very much a starting point. So far we have sucessfully grown... cilantro! Semi-successfully grown basil, rosemary, and the onions and sweet potatoes are looking good. Our composting experiement failed, as did the lettuce and broccoli. But it's been a fun journey and a learning process. Little by little we are going to figure out how to grow some of our own food, and it brings us joy. We also try to get a good deal of our produce at farmers markets, this is easy to do in San Diego and again FUN.
Other things besides food related:
-Michael rides his bike to work. He LOVES it. This is much easier to do living in San Diego. We live close to our jobs so as to not commute, and I personally think God helped us out with that one. I should ride my bike to work too... but so far I haven't motivated to start doing it, so I am giving myself grace and hoping to start soon.
- Another easy choice, because we just don't make a lot of money, was not having internet or TV at home. We're on the computer all day at work, so I really enjoy coming home and having a break from it. We recently started watching episodes of LOST that we get from the library... and are loving it, so we're definetly not up on any high horse about the whole TV thing, but we also enjoy knitting or crochetting, playing music together, reading, and getting outside often. We're just starting out on exploring how to promote peace through our liesure activities by being "creators and makers" (a method of opposing destruction and consumption, probably worth a post of its own). I am looking forward to finding new ways to do this.
- Refraining from buying new clothing in favor of second-hand and hand-me-downs. This was hard for me to commit to at first, but now it has just become natural and easy. I am really encouraged by that fact because I think it is an indicator of how the rest of this journey might go -- moving towards simplicity can sound overwhelming at first, but little by little these changes become integrated into your life and start being easy and natural, at which point it is probably a good idea to take a step further and try something new!
If any of you have ideas or examples of how you have joyfully engaged in simplicity and justice, we'd love to hear it!
I believe that God has invited each of us to be made new, and to live into God's kingdom of peace and justice. However, this is not something that can happen all at once. Although I believe we are "empowered by the Spirit of God" to live in this kingdom of peace, there is also the reality that it doesn't come naturally, and it will be a long process, a journey of slow, but hopefully constant change, and frequent failure. I strongly believe that this life should be joyful, if not easy, and in that vein Michael and I have taken small steps toward simple and Just living instead of immediately trying to implement every single thing possible. This is humbling, and it means that we have to live with that uncomfortable element of ambivalence, but it also means that we know where we are heading and what we are moving towards without getting burned out or judgemental (since there are examples of people making bigger changes than we are).
(The farmers market flowers with daisies and ferns from our backyard that we used for our wedding are my "joy in simplicity" visual for this post.)Here are a few little examples of how we are starting out.
Just Eating: There are a lot of things about our current system of food production that are unjust and unsustainable. A LOT. There are a lot of things we don't do that we know would be good, but here are a few things that we have chosen to be our starting point for food justice.
-Organic fair-trade coffee. We don't eat entirely organic or even, at this point, mostly organic, because it is a lot more expensive. But after passing several months between the two of us in Peru, Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Argentina, where we personally knew coffee farmers and saw the affects of this industry on individuals and on land, we do our best to be consistent about supporting fair-trade organic coffee (rainforest alliance cirtified when possible). We plan to move toward more organic food especially based around certain products as we learn their particular importance.
-Making our own bread. We bought a bread machine for $4 at a Thrift Store. Making our own bread is inexpensive, delicious, and FUN. Once or twice a week we sit on our couch in anticipation of warm fresh bread. Then when the bread machine beeps we rush into the kitchen to slice off big pieces and smother them with butter and jam. Mmmmm... Plus, we are closer to our food production and use a little bit less plastic.
- Less meat and milk. Again, this is an easy choice for us. It is cheaper, healthier, and better for the environment and world food sustainability. Plus, I prefer soy milk to regular milk. And there are tons of wonderful ethnic meals that don't require any meat. My thinking is to try to find a balance of eating in a way that would be possible for every person on earth to eat if somehow resources were equally distributed. We have discovered that the less we eat meat, the less we desire it. Eventually we may head to a fully vegetarian diet, but right now I have to admit find a lot of joy in the occassional burger or chicken in my pasta.
- Starting a garden. This is very much a starting point. So far we have sucessfully grown... cilantro! Semi-successfully grown basil, rosemary, and the onions and sweet potatoes are looking good. Our composting experiement failed, as did the lettuce and broccoli. But it's been a fun journey and a learning process. Little by little we are going to figure out how to grow some of our own food, and it brings us joy. We also try to get a good deal of our produce at farmers markets, this is easy to do in San Diego and again FUN.
Other things besides food related:
-Michael rides his bike to work. He LOVES it. This is much easier to do living in San Diego. We live close to our jobs so as to not commute, and I personally think God helped us out with that one. I should ride my bike to work too... but so far I haven't motivated to start doing it, so I am giving myself grace and hoping to start soon.
- Another easy choice, because we just don't make a lot of money, was not having internet or TV at home. We're on the computer all day at work, so I really enjoy coming home and having a break from it. We recently started watching episodes of LOST that we get from the library... and are loving it, so we're definetly not up on any high horse about the whole TV thing, but we also enjoy knitting or crochetting, playing music together, reading, and getting outside often. We're just starting out on exploring how to promote peace through our liesure activities by being "creators and makers" (a method of opposing destruction and consumption, probably worth a post of its own). I am looking forward to finding new ways to do this.
- Refraining from buying new clothing in favor of second-hand and hand-me-downs. This was hard for me to commit to at first, but now it has just become natural and easy. I am really encouraged by that fact because I think it is an indicator of how the rest of this journey might go -- moving towards simplicity can sound overwhelming at first, but little by little these changes become integrated into your life and start being easy and natural, at which point it is probably a good idea to take a step further and try something new!
If any of you have ideas or examples of how you have joyfully engaged in simplicity and justice, we'd love to hear it!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Life Updates
We've been bad at keeping this up, partly because of the inconvenience of not having internet and partly because we've been busy.
Pamela and I have really gotten into a rhythm of life that feels so normal even after only a few months. Pamela cooks and I do the dishes. I keep saying I want to gain more confidence and practice cooking though... We're somehow able to eat tasty, cheap, nutritious food for the most part which we're both a little too satisfied about. I've been thinking about food a lot lately but there are so many other people so much more knowledgeable and thoughtful about it than me. Our friend Sarah wrote a blog post about eating organic, local, and vegetarian recently. Here's the link: http://allthingshold.blogspot.com/2009/09/good-better-best.html
Being a volunteer coordinator at two non-profits can be a little tricky for me sometimes but it's been good lately. Work has been a little better at both places than it had been for a while.
I've also been really enjoying not driving. I walk to work when I go to the one right by our house and I ride my bike when I go up north. I'm also very proud of myself for that. I really didn't know anything about bikes a few months ago and I wasn't particularly fit or driven. So, I guess what I'm saying is that it's easier to do than I realized and I really enjoy it.
A few weekends ago Pamela and I visited our friends Katerina and Sarah who live and work on an organic farm a few hours north of us. It was so nice to get away and such a restful weekend.
There's a lot more going on in our lives and my head. I'll try to write about some of it before it builds up too much.
peace,
Michael
Pamela and I have really gotten into a rhythm of life that feels so normal even after only a few months. Pamela cooks and I do the dishes. I keep saying I want to gain more confidence and practice cooking though... We're somehow able to eat tasty, cheap, nutritious food for the most part which we're both a little too satisfied about. I've been thinking about food a lot lately but there are so many other people so much more knowledgeable and thoughtful about it than me. Our friend Sarah wrote a blog post about eating organic, local, and vegetarian recently. Here's the link: http://allthingshold.blogspot.com/2009/09/good-better-best.html
Being a volunteer coordinator at two non-profits can be a little tricky for me sometimes but it's been good lately. Work has been a little better at both places than it had been for a while.
I've also been really enjoying not driving. I walk to work when I go to the one right by our house and I ride my bike when I go up north. I'm also very proud of myself for that. I really didn't know anything about bikes a few months ago and I wasn't particularly fit or driven. So, I guess what I'm saying is that it's easier to do than I realized and I really enjoy it.
A few weekends ago Pamela and I visited our friends Katerina and Sarah who live and work on an organic farm a few hours north of us. It was so nice to get away and such a restful weekend.
There's a lot more going on in our lives and my head. I'll try to write about some of it before it builds up too much.
peace,
Michael
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Slacktivism and Social Change
I read a very intriguing (and relatively short) article here about the new trend of what has been
"slacktivism"; that is lazy activism that can be done now by simply joining a Facebook group or signing an online petition. Then today one of my favorite columnists, Nicholas Kristof at the Times, wrote a short blog post here on the same topic giving another perspective. This really fascinates me because engines of social change have begun to be one of my top interests. How do we create positive social change? How do we build up community where it is broken? What is the nature of resiliency? How and why do the lower classes develop class consciousness, and why does it seem to happen so rarely? These are some of the questions that I am most eager to explore.
Anyways, this new trend of online slacktivism seems to throw a kink into the way that things have worked in the past and it's hard to tell what will come of it. When I first read this article I immediately felt guilty for the ways that I have participated in slacktivism simply to appease my own conscience. Websites these days make it so easy to write a letter to the CEO of Starbucks, your congressman (or woman), Secretary Clinton, the president of Peru, or whoever. Simply fill out your email address and write your name and you've done your part to fight injustice. Is it really that simple? But what if my motives are pure and I feel deeply outraged about an injustice or possible injustice that there seems to be no other way to address besides sending a generic letter from the comfort of my home?
I would scoff at that if I hadn’t been a part of some positive change brought about by slacktivism. Earlier this year a graduate of Wheaton a few years older than me was living in Egypt. I met this guy one time because he happens to be a very close friend of a close friend of mine. Anyways, when Israel started bombing Palestine to pieces back in December, many Palestinians sought to flee to Egypt, but Egypt closed the border and they were trapped. This guy helped organize a protest against the Egyptian government and was then arrested by secret police and taken to an undisclosed location where he was being interrogated and, for all we knew, tortured. As word got out at Wheaton many students and professors went to the Egyptian embassy in Chicago and protested. I didn't find out about that in time, but I did write letters to everyone I could, including the Egyptian ambassador, my congressman, etc. He was soon released and my friend talked to him on the phone and he told me that his interrogators were surprised at how many American friends he had. After a day or two they even brought it up to him while they were interrogating him. Can you believe that? We raised enough awareness for them to notice it and feel nervous. They had intended to for this to be a secret and we quickly made it clear that it wasn’t and this likely helped lead to their releasing him pretty quickly.
I don't know the answers yet, though I've learned that in our complex world you have to intentionally limit your scope or you'll go crazy. That might be one of the big temptations of slacktivism; to be an “activist” for too many causes to actually effect change in any of them. For me limiting my scope means sticking to what I know, what hits home and what I am just drawn to. There's a whole lot to fight for right in our neighborhood of City Heights, and there are people out there working on all of it; things like keeping our parks safe from crime and cigarette free, increasing access to cheaper, healthier, more natural food for the poor (i.e. food justice), improving our schools, integrating new refugees into our neighborhood, educating undocumented immigrants about their rights and more. Even in my own neighborhood I have to choose what to put more energy into and there are certain issues, people, and places that I am more deeply connected or affected by than others.
But what is more important than picking and choosing my pet issues to join internet groups about is being truly compassionate. A compassionate response seeks solidarity while Slacktivism is too easily lazy and distant. Sometimes it may be the only tangible thing to do, and it can potentially be compassionate, but it requires nothing. Your thoughts?
-Michael
"slacktivism"; that is lazy activism that can be done now by simply joining a Facebook group or signing an online petition. Then today one of my favorite columnists, Nicholas Kristof at the Times, wrote a short blog post here on the same topic giving another perspective. This really fascinates me because engines of social change have begun to be one of my top interests. How do we create positive social change? How do we build up community where it is broken? What is the nature of resiliency? How and why do the lower classes develop class consciousness, and why does it seem to happen so rarely? These are some of the questions that I am most eager to explore.
Anyways, this new trend of online slacktivism seems to throw a kink into the way that things have worked in the past and it's hard to tell what will come of it. When I first read this article I immediately felt guilty for the ways that I have participated in slacktivism simply to appease my own conscience. Websites these days make it so easy to write a letter to the CEO of Starbucks, your congressman (or woman), Secretary Clinton, the president of Peru, or whoever. Simply fill out your email address and write your name and you've done your part to fight injustice. Is it really that simple? But what if my motives are pure and I feel deeply outraged about an injustice or possible injustice that there seems to be no other way to address besides sending a generic letter from the comfort of my home?
I would scoff at that if I hadn’t been a part of some positive change brought about by slacktivism. Earlier this year a graduate of Wheaton a few years older than me was living in Egypt. I met this guy one time because he happens to be a very close friend of a close friend of mine. Anyways, when Israel started bombing Palestine to pieces back in December, many Palestinians sought to flee to Egypt, but Egypt closed the border and they were trapped. This guy helped organize a protest against the Egyptian government and was then arrested by secret police and taken to an undisclosed location where he was being interrogated and, for all we knew, tortured. As word got out at Wheaton many students and professors went to the Egyptian embassy in Chicago and protested. I didn't find out about that in time, but I did write letters to everyone I could, including the Egyptian ambassador, my congressman, etc. He was soon released and my friend talked to him on the phone and he told me that his interrogators were surprised at how many American friends he had. After a day or two they even brought it up to him while they were interrogating him. Can you believe that? We raised enough awareness for them to notice it and feel nervous. They had intended to for this to be a secret and we quickly made it clear that it wasn’t and this likely helped lead to their releasing him pretty quickly.
I don't know the answers yet, though I've learned that in our complex world you have to intentionally limit your scope or you'll go crazy. That might be one of the big temptations of slacktivism; to be an “activist” for too many causes to actually effect change in any of them. For me limiting my scope means sticking to what I know, what hits home and what I am just drawn to. There's a whole lot to fight for right in our neighborhood of City Heights, and there are people out there working on all of it; things like keeping our parks safe from crime and cigarette free, increasing access to cheaper, healthier, more natural food for the poor (i.e. food justice), improving our schools, integrating new refugees into our neighborhood, educating undocumented immigrants about their rights and more. Even in my own neighborhood I have to choose what to put more energy into and there are certain issues, people, and places that I am more deeply connected or affected by than others.
But what is more important than picking and choosing my pet issues to join internet groups about is being truly compassionate. A compassionate response seeks solidarity while Slacktivism is too easily lazy and distant. Sometimes it may be the only tangible thing to do, and it can potentially be compassionate, but it requires nothing. Your thoughts?
-Michael
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Three Vignettes
One: "What do you call a white girl in city heights?" (Lost).
A couple of weeks ago I was driving home from work. I was in the turn lane to exit onto the street I live on when a nice Muslim man pulled up in a mini-van next to me and asked through the window, "Excuse me, are you a little bit lost?"
Two: You never know what could happen at 9:30 on a Wednesday night.
Last night, at about 9:30, Michael and I were sitting in our bedroom chatting, when we suddenly heard what sounded exactly like a parade going by outside our house. Except we had heard no approach. We jumped up and looked out the livingroom window to discover that there was in fact a nine piece horn ensamble playing full force in the parking lot of the appartment complex across the street, which is home to several dozen Mexican families. A small gathering was standing around the band with all the appearances of a birthday party. Michael threw on a t-shirt and some flip-flops and went across the street to join the party where he was presented with a large, fully in tact but fried, fish. I stayed home but enjoyed listening to the unexpected live music, which lasted for about another half hour, while I did the dishes.
Three: We Felt Like Kings.
Last week, upon discovering that we were actually spending far less money than we had origionally budgeted, we decided to treat ourselves with a trip to Trader Joes. (Normally I confine my shopping to the grocery store in our neighborhood with the best deals in the weekly coupon advertisements.) As we walked around the store I switched my normal shopping mentality from "Do we really need this and is it the best deal I can find?" to "Why not?" Michael would nervously ask, "Do you think these peanuts are a good deal?" "Sure! Get 'em!" I'd respond. "Oh they have that cereal I really like, but I guess we don't really need it" he would say. "Go ahead," I'd tell him. About half way through the shopping trip Michael turns to me with a glowing smile and says, "This is so much fun!" We left there with a small tub of hummus, a box of crackers, three boxes of tea, regular AND decaf coffee, cereal, dried cherries, a bag of peanuts, one tub of organic yogurt, and of course, a $2 bottle of wine. We felt like Kings! Afterward we shared an ice-cream cone from Rite Aide, and I bought a copy of David Copperfield from a used book store. It was so much fun.
A couple of weeks ago I was driving home from work. I was in the turn lane to exit onto the street I live on when a nice Muslim man pulled up in a mini-van next to me and asked through the window, "Excuse me, are you a little bit lost?"
Two: You never know what could happen at 9:30 on a Wednesday night.
Last night, at about 9:30, Michael and I were sitting in our bedroom chatting, when we suddenly heard what sounded exactly like a parade going by outside our house. Except we had heard no approach. We jumped up and looked out the livingroom window to discover that there was in fact a nine piece horn ensamble playing full force in the parking lot of the appartment complex across the street, which is home to several dozen Mexican families. A small gathering was standing around the band with all the appearances of a birthday party. Michael threw on a t-shirt and some flip-flops and went across the street to join the party where he was presented with a large, fully in tact but fried, fish. I stayed home but enjoyed listening to the unexpected live music, which lasted for about another half hour, while I did the dishes.
Three: We Felt Like Kings.
Last week, upon discovering that we were actually spending far less money than we had origionally budgeted, we decided to treat ourselves with a trip to Trader Joes. (Normally I confine my shopping to the grocery store in our neighborhood with the best deals in the weekly coupon advertisements.) As we walked around the store I switched my normal shopping mentality from "Do we really need this and is it the best deal I can find?" to "Why not?" Michael would nervously ask, "Do you think these peanuts are a good deal?" "Sure! Get 'em!" I'd respond. "Oh they have that cereal I really like, but I guess we don't really need it" he would say. "Go ahead," I'd tell him. About half way through the shopping trip Michael turns to me with a glowing smile and says, "This is so much fun!" We left there with a small tub of hummus, a box of crackers, three boxes of tea, regular AND decaf coffee, cereal, dried cherries, a bag of peanuts, one tub of organic yogurt, and of course, a $2 bottle of wine. We felt like Kings! Afterward we shared an ice-cream cone from Rite Aide, and I bought a copy of David Copperfield from a used book store. It was so much fun.
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