My Foodie Revolution

I'm slowly going through a foodie revolution.  Up until recent days I have not been one to spend too much time in the kitchen.  I rarely bake, barely cook, and think of food mostly as a necessary evil. 

But in the last month a series of events have unfolded that make me believe I am becoming someone who could potentially enjoy thinking about how food is produced, mixed together, and eventually served to provide not only sustenance for the body but also therapy for the home and soul.

I am quickly approaching my 30th birthday and have been waking up in the early hours of the morning contemplating what type of mommy I want to be.  I remember adoring my mother between the ages of 3 and 12, and since my oldest daughter will be turning 3 soon, I've been wondering what my girls will remember about their childhood as it relates to their mommy and how creative, attentive, relaxed, fun-loving, and grace-filled she was.  In the food area I have high aspirations of changing my family tree and helping them to see food for what it is and what it's not.

In addition to that, I was able to read In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan over Christmas break.  (Having young children makes reading books for pleasure nearly impossible, so I was super excited when the only book I've read in two years turned out to be thought-provoking, encouraging, and basically awesome.)  I love hearing a new perspective on ideas that seems obvious and dogmatic to the population at large, and Pollan's book gave me a hefty helping of thoughts to ponder.  We are now eating more real food, more plants, and I'm beginning to consider the idea of eating not too much, as Pollan would say.  We are buying milk in glass jars from a relatively local dairy, and I've even searched online for CSA's in the area.  Winters in South Dakota put a bit of a dent in the farmer's market market, but come spring, the girls and I will be traipsing through them to find food grown by people we can shake hands with.  (Traipse is one of my favorite words; I love the word itself and the image of the word.)

Along with wanting to make things right for my daughters and reading a book that scares me not to change, I have also been subscribing to E-mealz for about six months now.  If Dave Ramsey endorses it, I don't need a lot of convincing, but I have been surprised by how confident I feel in the grocery store and in the kitchen because of a weekly menu and grocery list I print off the computer.  It's like I'm afraid to make cooking mistakes but somehow knowing that the Mealtime Makeover ladies "got my back" makes me feel like a cooking superhero.

I would be remiss if I didn't add the fact that my aunt, Elizabeth, bought me a year's subscription to Martha Stewart's Living.  Having been so anti-home etc. for so long, I'm almost embarrassed to reveal the giddiness I feel when the magazine arrives and the fervor at which I comb each article and photo.  Over a couple of snow days, I used one of her recipes to bake bread...from scratch!  I don't know who was more shocked, me or my husband.

The final factor in this perfect storm was reading Michael Ruhlman's blog post asking if Americans are too stupid to cook.  Reading his thesis made me think:  My grandma can whip up anything from practically nothing, and unless I do some changing, that skill will die with her.  I plan to keep you updated on the status of my foodie revolution as new and exciting breakthroughs occur.

EnneaThought for the Day

After reading a tweet from Shauna Niequist, I decided to sign up for EnneaThought for the Day after taking a free personality test from the Enneagram Institute.  I am a total 6, the Loyalist, and sometimes the insights I read about me are so, well, insightful.  For example, the email I received today said this:

Today, see if you can be aware of your "excuse" for not being Present. "When I have every area of my life handled and nothing can take me by surprise, then I'll show up."

Busted.  Part of why I keep a planner and a calendar and multiple mental post-it notes is because I don't want to be caught off-guard by anything.  I'm always planning for future events, hoping that they will make me happy, but all events come and go and I'm still me, happy or otherwise. 

Maybe it's because I'm on the cusp of my 30th birthday or maybe it's because I don't make time to do any deep thinking for myself and I need a computer-generated email to do it for me, but I am totally loving my daily EnneaThought and the way it helps me become more of who I am.

Welcome home, Steeven!

It only took me two days to break my promise of blogging everyday.  Not bad.  In my former life I would need at least three months to recover from this setback.  Now, in my attempt to start giving others and myself a break, I will forego the months of negative self-talk and just jump back in.  If it's any consolation to you (but not because I need to excuse my behavior), we are in the process of switching internet providers, and that's why I didn't blog yesterday.

What I would really like to bring to everyone's attention tonight is the story of Steevenson, a little boy who is meeting his forever family tonight in the Miami airport.  His adoptive parents, Wade and Kristi, are good friends of mine, and everytime I try to envision their reunion tonight, I tear up.  Years and months of waiting have instead turned to hours and minutes, and I am so happy for them to finally be together, despite such horrendous circumstances.

God bless Haiti and all who work to restore her.

My Philippians 3

If other people think they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:  went to Sunday School since before I was out of diapers; had the lead in two Christmas programs and one Easter program; played Mary once; finished every AWANA handbook from Cubbies to JV twice; still know all the songs; earned the Timothy trophy; read through the Bible three and a half times; memorized countless verses; attended church every single Sunday for the past 30 years unless ill or on vacation; was an RA at a small Christian university for three years; attended many Bible studies, spriritual life retreats, and chapel services; taught Sunday school for four years; made snacks for vacation bible school; accepted Jesus into my heart at an early age; was baptised at age 14; worked in the kitchen at a Christian summer camp for two years; read countless Christian self-help books; and was a pastor's wife for two years. 
7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

These words of Paul's have taken on a new and beautiful meaning to me in the last couple of days as I strive to begin in the begin by first grieving the loss of what I thought would save me. 

How to keep promises

Eighteen days into the New Year's Resolution now, and I am wondering yet again how I plan to stick to some of my goals for longer than a month.  One idea I had was to go public with my hopes for 2010, so here goes!

I want to update this blog once a day.  What?!  Are you sure, Allie?  I mean, you can barely remember to change underwear once a day, let alone string together a handful of coherent (and perhaps mildly entertaining) sentences at least one time every day. 

I know; it's a crazy thought, but hey, 2010 might be a crazy year, and I'm so tired of living in the shoulda-woulda-coulda's.  I'm asking for your help; I'm asking you to hold me accountable to post to this blog once a day; I'm also asking for your help in containing my somewhat obnoxious love of the semi-colon. 

So you heard it here first.  Even if it's just owueorieoasodposidusa or some other combination of finger flapping, I promise to update the Like a Big Kid blog once a day.

As for my other 2010 resolutions, I'll keep you posted.