Five Favorites Take 2

Welcome to Five Favorites (of randomness)! For more five favorites, visit Moxie Wife. I'm not sure if she's doing it this Tuesday, but since I rarely actually write a post and I did this in anticipation, well, it's going up anyway :). Well, you should visit her anyway - one of my favorite bloggers!

1. Consignment Shops

 We have several really adorable consignment shops in our area. My favorite one for the kids recently closed and it made me a little sad, but I have discovered a couple others that, while they don't have the same homey feel, they are still really great to browse. AND the best part is they have Facebook pages, so I can let my fingers do the shopping (even if just window shopping). Consignment stores are like treasure chests for me. I love going in and never knowing exactly what I'm going to find. There's one particular one that I love for me. The layout is easy to navigate and the ladies who work there are so nice. I will admit to being a brand-snob; not the kind that only wears something expensive, but I'm picky. I love Target brand clothing just as much as Banana Republic, but there are some on both ends I just am not a fan of. Consignment shops tend to be a bit pricier than your average thrift store or garage sale, but I don't have to sift through the garbage because clothing and accessories are always in excellent condition. Now, don't get me wrong - I love thrift stores and garage sales as well, but when I'm looking for something in particular, I always head straight to the consignment shop first.

2. ACV and Baking Soda

 I have discovered two great uses for these bad boys. Toilet bowl cleaner and shampoo/conditioner combo. Yes, those seem to be on opposite ends and it kind of sounds gross that I put those two uses in the same phrase, but they truly are great for both (and cheap!). My favorite apple cider vinegar (ACV) is Braggs, but really, it's only because I haven't really tried any others (once, I tried Whole Foods' 365 brand and it seemed to work well too).

Toilet bowl cleaner recipe: 1/2 cup baking soda (add in first all around) and 1 cup of ACV. Scrub and flush. Voila! And I love the reaction that comes from combining the two.

Shampoo/conditioner: Roughly 2 tbsp of baking soda - mix with equal parts warm water. Soak and scrub in base of scalp all over. Rinse thoroughly. 1/4 cup of ACV with 1 cup of warm water. Start at ends of hair and work your way up. Leave the ACV in a couple of minutes and rinse. Soft, beautiful hair!

3. Hawthorne Threads

 When I'm unable to shop my local fabric shops (because taking 3 kids anywhere is an adventure, and not always of the fun variety), I love to hop online to Hawthorne Threads to make my fabric purchases. They have a wide range of choices and some great ways to search/browse fabrics, plus some adorable patterns! They also offer discounts, the more yardage you buy. I heart them. A lot. (I can't put a < with a 3 on this blog apparently. It freaks out on me.)

4. This Post on Strange Gods and Simplifying

 Betty Duffy linked two things that have been on my mind over the last week. Thanks to Relevant Radio for their interview with Elizabeth Scalia on her new book and the fact that my smallish apartment seems to be never-endingly overflowing with STUFF and voila! Perfect post for me. Seriously. Go over and read it. You won't be sorry. :)

5. Fertility Friend app

 I must say that I'm not a terribly great NFPer. Well, Mr. ADM and I aren't. And by "not terribly great" I mean, we're pretty lazy. And by that I mean, we use the sympto-thermal method, but I never temp...as in, I've temped maybe 5 times in the last 2 years. Yeah. But, I am thankful because I do have regular cycles (I know - more than you EVER wanted to know about me), so it's easy to use Fertility Friend without recording many of my NFP signs (if you don't know what this is and aren't afraid of TMI, ask away! It's totally interesting and a great tool for getting to know your body and NFP is a great tool to strengthen your marriage!) and still be right on the ball as to the whens of my monthly cycles.

31 Dress Days

Over on good ol' Facebook, I was invited by one of my sister's friends to be part of an event called 31 Day Dress-Dare. When I saw I was invited to this event, I was very intrigued. After all the words "dress" and "dare" were in the title, so it must have something to do with fashion. The summary of this event is for women to commit to wearing a dress/skirt every single day of the month of May. Now, I'm 6 days into the month already, so I'm committing to the remainder of the month plus 5 days in June. I like this idea. I've read many of the posts, including the one about the 31 Day Dress-Dare, on the blog, and I'm really excited about this.

Why have I committed to wearing dresses/skirts this month? Is it because I am anti-pants for women? Is it because I'm waging a war? No. Being a woman who loves her jeans, I am certainly not the person to say that I think all women should be wearing skirts/dresses. However, I do believe that women generally appear more feminine in skirts or dresses. That's not 100% the case, I definitely know, but as a general rule of thumb, I believe that. I think this world needs women to learn how to embrace their femininity. After this whole "feminist" movement, women today don't know whether to be the beautiful creatures God created them to be or to attempt to become the exact opposite - men. I think too often, we are told that being equal with men means that we must be the same. That is not the case. Just because we are different does not mean that we are less human, less valuable. And just because we are equal doesn't mean that women have to be exactly the same as men in all things.

Along with this bigger message, personally, I am very excited about this idea because I know I've been "letting myself go" a lot lately. Being a mother of two little boys keeps me busy. I never forget to shower or brush my teeth, but there are many days where it's just easier to slip on a pair of old jeans and a worn out t-shirt. Being 20 lbs over my pre-baby weight has also kept me from buying too many clothes in these bigger sizes. It took me almost a year to lose 10 lbs but I've finally done it and with that has come a better sense of self, whether that be right or wrong. I know that when I wear skirts/dresses, which usually only happens on Sundays for Mass, I feel more feminine and beautiful. I know that my husband loves to see me in skirts and dresses. He finds me extremely attractive because I LOOK feminine. I want to embrace my femininity. So, today was day 1 of the Dress-Dare. I wore a pretty pastel lime-green skirt that my mom bought me at a garage sale for probably $1 or 2 and a black 3/4 sleeve ballerina-neck shirt and I felt beautiful. I hope I can make it the whole way, as I only have a few skirts, but I think it'll be worth it.

Oh, and did I mention, it's been a dream of mine to be able to wear skirts and dresses all summer long? Perfect excuse to do so! :)

And Thus Begins Our Journey

Today begins the first day of this Lenten season and I feel like I have not been blindsided by this day for the first time in many years. It seems to creep up on me and then pass by with me barely realizing it. Each year I always say that I want to grow and I want to really focus on Lent and each year it seems like I fail. This year may be no different, but I hope that is not the case and I feel like I'm already on this journey.

Starting out this month already working on becoming a better me has helped me embark on this journey that much more easily. I have begun the hike up the mountain of betterment and I have already started wearing-in my boots. I have done okay working on not complaining. And I think I have done pretty well keeping my actual complaining words to a minimum. Now, I need to work on my attitude. Something else that has made me more alive and aware of the work involved in this journey is that I have a partner with whom I will go down this road - my husband. We have tried to keep prayer in our lives and we have succeeded many times and failed many times as well, but we have always gone through Lent separately. Last night, we sat down and talked about what we wanted to give up and where we wanted to head - individually, as a couple, and as a family - in this great journey. We didn't just talk about Lent, but the time we have left on this earth, be it minutes or many, many years. We know that if we want to raise our children to love God as much as we desire to then we have to live our faith and live it together. So, this Lent, I will have the man I married at my side, encouraging me to grow, and I will do the same for him. After all, that's what marriage is for :)...

Also, head on down to Relevant Radio's 40 Links for 40 Days for some great meditations and such to help you on your Lenten journey.

A Little Beauty before the Ashes

Set me as a seal on your heart,
Set me as a seal on your soul.
As strong as death is love,
Unyielding as the grave,
Nothing will quench its flame,
Nothing will quench its flame.

Kiss me, my love,
That your name be on my lips
You intoxicate my being
With the fragrance of your presence.

How beautiful you are
My darling
Show me your face,
Let me hear your voice.
Sweet as the dew in the early morn,
Like a lily among the thorns.

Set me as a seal on your heart,
Set me as a seal on your soul.
As strong as death is love,
Unyielding as the grave,
Nothing will quench its flame,
Nothing will quench its flame.

I looked for you,
The one my heart loves,
I looked for you, but did not find you.
Searched through the night,
Until I rested in your sight,
Now I will never let you go.

'Cause you have stolen my heart,
My sister, my bride,
Stolen my heart with one glance of your eye.
Your lips so sweet,
Adorned with honey,
My hands, they drip with myrrh.

Set Me as a Seal by Matt Maher

Once you experience authentic love, how can you even glance at the counterfeit?

Lenten Sacrifices

Sacrifice. That is rarely a word that this world looks upon with any positivity today. And yet, in our Catholic faith, it's a word that is central to life. It is so easy to reject the notion of sacrificing, but the rewards are far greater if we embrace it.

With NaNoCompMo, sacrifice has been in my mind a lot more often than normal. My eyes are being open more and more to the little ways I can hold my tongue and become self-less in one way or another. I'm seeing that even when, and maybe especially when, I'm having particularly stressful, exhausting days, that I have not really done much sacrificing. Many times the stress is there because all I can think is, "What about ME? Why ME? What's in it for ME?"

This Lent, I am still not sure what I plan to sacrifice. There have been many ideas floating through my head. Whatever it is, I want it to be a challenge. I want to grow from it, not just be a little inconvenienced. What are you doing for Lent?

February Is NaNoCompMo!

And what is that you ask? Well, you should check it out at Homeschooling with Joy's blog!

NaNoCompMo stands for National No Complaining Month and it is a challenge I desperately need in my life. So, from here to March 1st, I am making the heartfelt attempt to not complain. I will let you know how this goes and I challenge you to take part in NaNoCompMo as well! :) God bless!