Zombies

It's easy for me to look back at the mutant-monster B-movies of the 1950's and see how they reflected society's anxiousness over the advent of the Atom Bomb; so what does our current obsession with the Zombie Apocalypse say about us? Or, more specifically, me? Because I really, really love how zombies inject all kinds of fun into otherwise mundane aspects of life. For example:

I've mentioned the Run for Your Lives race before-- which is a 5k obstacle course crawling with the walking dead-- but recently, I discovered the perfect way to train for it! It's an app called Zombies, Run! and it turns my dreaded sprint intervals into a life-or-death escape from the zombie hoards. The fitness app is cleverly disguised as an interactive game; I'm cast as Runner 5, and am sent to collect supplies for Abel Township, a survivor camp. The story is interspersed between music {I've assembled my own end-of-the-world playlist} and when zombies attack, I have to put on the speed {hello GPS} to outrun them. It's surprisingly thrilling. I've found myself looking forward to the next mission with an eagerness I don't normally associate with exercise.

72 Hour Kits are just so much more appealing when they're marketed 'for use in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse'. :) And so is food storage:

And, of course, it's fun to escape reality with a good book or movie:

This facination must mean something, but I just can't help myself. :) Am I the only one?

The Glasses Debate

Now that we have insurance, I finally went to the optometrist and replaced the contacts I've been using for the last *ahem* three years! While there, I also got a prescription for new glasses. Not only were my old pair woefully outdated {my vision deteriorates so fast, I'm sure to be blind in another few decades} but Baby R managed to get ahold of them one afternoon and snapped them clean in half! Luckily, it just provided the perfect excuse to try out Warby Parker, a company I've only heard good things about.

I started out browsing their online selection, attempting to 'try them on' using the webcam. It was a cool feature, but I just had to feel them in person to get a sense of scale and fit. So I ordered 5 complimentary  pairs to test out... and then 5 more when none of those were quite right. Tomorrow, I have to send back the current batch, but I think I've narrowed it down to these two:

The Sims pair is a bigger, Clark Kent-type of frame, which fits nicely with the current trend of what hAha likes to call "Birth Control" glasses. The Nedwin is a more pronounced version of what I usually buy-- conservative, professional and sexy-nerdy. Both have a nice whisky-tortoise finish that goes with everything.

What do you think? I'm veering towards the Sims, but every few outfit changes, I get cold feet. ;) I wore a pair to church on Sunday and felt like a teenager again, all self-conscious and awkward!

12 Books to Read After The Hunger Games

After 5 weeks of working with the youth in our church, they finally had their performance a few weeks ago. It was a skit based on The Hunger Games, and they did a great job-- writing, acting, and choreographing the majority of it themselves.

Of course, I --like nearly everyone out there-- read and loved The Hunger Games. I tend to like dystopian novels in general. In fact, I've read so many that I thought I'd put together a little list of recommendations for those of you itching for something to read after burning through The Hunger Games trilogy. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it should provide a good starting point {and who doesn't like a good book to read during a long holiday weekend?}

12 Books to Read After the Hunger Games:

fig.1  The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson-- a quick, not altogether unpredictable read, but quite enjoyable anyway.

fig.2  The Compound by SA Bodeen-- a tale of an uber rich family living in an underground compound after a nuclear holocaust.

fig.3  The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan-- this is a series, but the first book is the best. It has zombies. Enough said.

fig.4  Gone by Michael Grant-- one day everyone over the age of 15 disappears. It's like Lord of the Flies with a sci-fi twist. Plus it's an ongoing series, which ups the addiction factor.

fig.5  Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer-- The Moon is knocked into a closer orbit with Earth. Panic and death ensue. Good times.

fig. 6  Matched by Ally Condie-- Life is perfect until it isn't. Dystopian in the vein of Fahrenheit 451. 

fig.7  The Maze Runner by James Dashner-- This ongoing series keeps you guessing. Who's in charge? And just what are their motives?

fig.8  Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi-- unflinching account of boy living in a world where resources are limited and government has broken down.

fig.9  Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden-- this is possibly my favorite 'end of the world as we know it' series. A group of New Zealand teenagers form a guerilla resistance group when they come home from camping in the bush only to find that their country has been taken over by invaders. Violent and suspenseful.

fig.10  Uglies by Scott Westerfeld-- the strength of this series is its premise and the questions it raises about beauty and self-worth {the plot is unfocused and meanders aggravatingly}.  

fig.11  Wither by Lauren DeStefano-- a world where everyone dies young.

fig.12  Z is for Zachariah by Robert O'Brien-- Chilling. A young girl believes that she's the last living human being on Earth after a nuclear war. Then one day, there's campfire smoke on the horizon.


Have a great weekend, all!

{if anyone has the source for the "May the odds be ever in your favor' image, please drop me a line!}

Extra Chores + Free Printables

Now that J has steady employment, we've been discussing how to handle the issue of allowance with the kids. In the past, we gave them a small weekly sum simply to teach them how money works {and to stave off the gimme's that always struck while going through the check out at the grocery store} but now that they're older, we feel they're ready to earn their money, as well as become serious about paying their tithing and putting away savings. 

We discussed which household tasks {separate from their daily chores} we'd be willing to pay for, then made up a reference chart with the appropriate sums. We also decided we wanted to put them on an old fashioned envelope system: each child having an envelope for giving {10%}, saving {10%} and spending. 

Instead of paper envelopes {which wouldn't last 24 hours in this household}, I found several inexpensive mesh cosmetic bags in the dollar section at Target and bought blue for the boys, pink for Little Miss C. I then made color-coded 'Give', 'Save', and 'Spend' tags {a different color for each child, corresponding with their color coded chore charts-- geeky, I know}, laminated them, and placed them inside the mesh bags.

Next, I hung them in the pantry + command center with the chore charts.

I've talked about their chore charts in a previous post, but made a modified version for their extra chores. Each time they do an extra chore, we write down what the task was, how much they earned, and on which day the task was completed.

Once a week {after Family Home Evening} we add up their totals and they get paid, immediately placing the appropriate amounts in their corresponding envelopes.

It's only been a week so far, but so far they're so excited to earn money that they've glossed over the fact that we don't give them an allowance any more. :) Orderly stuff like this makes me ridiculously happy.

What about you? Do you give your children an allowance? Have them earn it? Do you put a cap on what they can earn {like we do-- or we'd go broke}? Do tell.

PS If you like, you can print the modified chore charts here or the Give, Save, Spend tags here.

Thirteen

We celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary a few weeks ago, and I have to admit that it wasn't our finest.

Having sunk into a funk of insecurity after the Mad Men Dress Incident, I'd been moody and listless the days prior--made worse by the fact that I ceased taking my medication {which is oddly common when I'm depressed. I quit when I most need it.} J reacted with frustration and anger, saying that it wasn't fair to him and the kids; that he worried about them; that this was preventable. It was all true, and yet one of the kindnesses I take for granted is that J doesn't often point this out, knowing that my deepest fear is that I'm somehow damaging my children by trying to mother them amidst struggles with depression. His sudden hostile honesty made me angry at him for being angry with me. It was silly and we both knew it, yet it took a few days to let those feelings go.

But now it's Friday the 13th,  I've decided to chalk up our anniversary drama to superstitious bad luck and am busy making up for it with fabulous weekly dates. On the agenda tonight? Walking under ladders, breaking mirrors, spilling salt, auditioning black cats... you know, the usual.

What about you? Any plans for this evening? Whatever they are, good luck! Or break a leg! May the odds be ever in your favor! You get the idea. :)

Happy Weekend, all.

Pi Day

As I browsed my favorite Pi Day images, I stumbled across this recipe for mini key lime pies and now my mouth is watering. It sounds so perfectly tart and refreshing for a day like today. Also, mini pies are the best. Portion control plus crazy indulgence {because-- hello! You're eating a whole pie!} is the very definition of awesome sauce.

If you follow me on Instagram {@melancholysmile}, you know that mere hours before J's birthday, our tax return came in. We were able to quickly pay some past-due bills {thus avoiding having our power, water and phone switched off} and celebrate by taking him out to dinner. It was a birthday miracle. :)

{Here's a little tangent on miracles:

Though J and I have been praying about our future for months, always feeling comforted and at peace, we didn't know how to interpret that peace. Did it mean that J would get more freelance work? That he'd find a corporate job? That we'd lose the house but it would all be part of a bigger plan? It was confusing and difficult to explain to others how we could feel stressed and calm at the same time.

When I was younger, I used to say, "God's version of things working out and my version of things working out aren't necessarily the same thing." I'd say it with bitterness, bravado and more than a bit of fear. But over the last six years, I've been working on saying those same words with confidence and faith.

Up until the day J got this new job {which he started on Monday} I wasn't sure that God's plan and my plan were the same, but I wanted them to be, and I was willing to change my expectations to match His. I imagined all the worst-case scenarios, walked through them in my head, and tried to find the good that could potentially come of that particular situation. I told myself that no matter what, it would be okay. No matter what, I was going to be positive. No matter what, God knows my heart and will give me what I need in this life to be like him, which is more important that getting what I want in life.

I was so busy steeling myself, determined to be happy and align myself with His will that when His will turned out to be an amazing job offer and tax-return money to avoid financial catastrophe at the 11th hour, I could only grin and then laugh incredulously.

Sometimes God's version of things working out and my version of things working out are exactly the same, and when that happens, I feel like dancing. I feel like the whole world is sunshine, and I need to spend the rest of my life spreading joy. {"You get a car! and you get a car! and YOU get a car!"}

I want to think that I'd feel just as much love if things had turned out otherwise, but for now, I'm relishing the happiness. And imagining giving away cars.}

Anyway, back to J's birthday-- Little Miss C and I made ice cream pie instead of cake for him. It had a grasshopper cookie crust, a thin-mint ice cream layer, hot fudge, a layer of whipped cream and then Andes Mints on top.

I wish we still had some. I'd eat a slice for Pi Day. :)

{images 1, 2, 3 & 4}

Run, run, Rudolph!

I ran the 12K's of Christmas race on Saturday and had such a great time! It was HUGE. So many people, most dressed up as Santa or Christmas trees or elves. There were carolers at every mile and the entire course smelled like kettle corn. :) While I felt like I felt like I really pushed myself, I still finished with a slower time than I'd hoped for {1:27:59}. I think after the half marathon {London's Run in January}, I'm going to start working on speed. I've run enough races now that I can try and beat my own time in each one.

In other news,Nicole featured our video on Making It Lovely! I'm a bit star struck:

Also, check out this awesome Christmas video made by the Slade Family {they're friends of J's brother}. I'm glad they made it, because I'd never have been able to! I hate water on my face. :)

Test Tube Obsession

via

Science has always been chic in my book, but lately I'm in love with test tube racks. They're surprisingly expensive-- even the new, plastic ones sell for quite a bit-- but I keep my eye out for a nice vintage wire or wooden rack with a nice patina. I dream of finding one in a forgotten corner of a garage sale for $5.

via

Of course, with Halloween on its way, test tube racks enjoy an added appeal. Fill them with mysterious contents, label them with scientific hang tags and cover with cobwebs. Done!

via

If I don't find something suitable soon, I may attempt to go the DIY route. I like the above rack that's made to look aged-- It's simple and streamlined and completely doable. 

via

But then there is this-- test tubes all strung together, allowing them to be arranged in all kinds of formations. It figures that my favorite is completely non-DIY friendly, not to mention the most expensive. {I saw it at Dree's in Olympia for over $100.}

via

If I get desperate, there's always the z-rack. I've found it as cheap as $17 online, and it would look cool as a pencil holder.

Still, I dream of that perfectly aged test tube rack sitting neglected in a thrift store....

Endeavor and Beyond

This morning, the kids and I woke up early to watch a live broadcast of space shuttle Endeavor's final launch into space. It seems rather serendipitous that the launch should coincide with our recent study of the moon, planets, and Apollo missions. It was beautiful. Watching the flames and clouds billowing from the launch pad gave me chills, while E liked the spent fuel rockets disengaging from the shuttle.

On a related note, J sent me this link to an amazing interactive 360 degree view of the night sky. It includes an overlay displaying constellations, bright stars and planets. I've said it before, but I can't help reiterating that the sheer majesty of the stars in the heavens always manage to take my breath away and make me feel so very small and humble.

*sigh*

I love homeschooling.

Slightly More Than Half

Some things are so nerdy-yet-cool, I can't help but wish I'd thought of them first. This is one such example! My favorite line: "It's gross but true". Happy {late} Mother's Day. {found via Leigh}

Going Green {UPDATED!}

UPDATE: Since posting, I did enough background research on Green Monster to believe that I have, in fact, been scammed. Within 24 hours of signing on the dotted line {which I did far too easily! Why didn't I wait? Why didn't I think about it?! I'm such an idiot!!} we had these things installed, and now I'm pretty sure that the promised rebates and incentives either will not be coming or will not be for the amounts we were promised, leaving us with 11% interest on a loan we cannot afford and should never have taken out. 


Since finding out about their revoked status from the BBB, seeing the lack of any REAL information on them from Google, and then some online cautions, I've been sick. 


Literally, I can't sleep. I can't eat. I can't believe I did this to us. I feel like such a fool. I have never done anything so stupid in my life. I really just thought I'd be saving us money when we so desperately need to do that, and now I'm afraid I've just saddled us with an enormous debt. 


I hate myself.


Right now it's 4am, but come daylight I will be making a few calls-- to the BBB, the Attorney General's office, the National Fraud Information Center {NFIC} and our local news outlets, if I have to. And Green Monster themselves, of course. Perhaps by some miracle I'll be able to work something out with them. 


In the meantime, I have to go throw up.


Anyone know a good lawyer?




There's something exciting going on at our house! A few weeks ago, I got a call from a company called Green Monster. At first, it was mostly survey questions about how much I knew about energy efficiency and whether I was aware of government incentives towards 'going green'. They asked if I wanted to meet with an energy consultant, and though I was suspicious of some kind of marketing scam, I warily agreed. 

Several years ago, {before the recession hit} I had looked into taking advantage of government incentives and rebates in order to get solar panels installed. I was frustrated with the ineffective and wasteful design of homes in our state {including ours} which just seem to result in crazy-high air-conditioning costs. But even with incentives, going 'off grid' with solar panels was too cost prohibitive. 

But this is different. What Green Monster does is offer a package of energy-saving products: packaging means they get to offer them cheaper. Tack on the Federal Tax Incentive, the State Tax Incentive, the utility company's rebate {Yes! The utility company pays you to go green!} and suddenly, the cost of the products are less than the amount you end up saving in utilities every month. 

That is, if it works. J remains skeptical until we receive our next utility bill. In the meantime, yesterday we had panels installed for our new solar water heater!

They had to cut a few holes in the wall to thread the new pipes down from the roof to the water heater in the garage. {the drywall guys come next week to patch 'em up.}

And here's the new two-tank solar water heating system. This was moments after it was installed, and you can see the water in the tank had already been heated to 90 degrees. If you push a button on the screen, you can see how hot it is on the roof-- at 9 o'clock this morning, it was already 110 degrees.

That afternoon, they also installed the radiant barrier in our attic. It's that tin-foil-looking-tent stapled to the rafters. Apparently, it's designed by NASA and blocks heat from entering the attic. See the air duct in the right hand corner? It rests right on top of the insulation. This always frustrated me, because you're pumping uninsulated cooled air through a super-heated attic. The very picture of insanity! We'd talked about putting insulation in the rafters, but this works even better. 

Next week, they come to put uv/heat blocking film on all the windows, then they're sending an inspector to find heat spots, put in additional insulation, and seal all the windows and doors. 


Yesterday, after they'd finished their work, I kept checking  the thermostat to see if someone had lowered the temperature. I didn't mention it to J because I was sure it was just a placebo effect-- my mind playing tricks on me. But J feels it too! 


It remains to be seen whether this is the smartest move we've ever made, or if I just fell for a a virtuously-clad scam, but I have high hopes. I promised J that if we lose money over this, I'd broadcast my wrath to the entire internet. Fingers crossed that it doesn't come to that.


I'll keep you updated!


PS- Did you know April is Earth Month? How appropriate!

Homeschool

When it comes to homeschooling, I tend to be very relaxed and unstructured. The kids have to do some reading, writing and math every day, but otherwise we study whatever strikes our fancy. From the outside, it can look like we're not doing anything at all. But E writing a book about superheroes? That's homeschool. Building a city out of cardboard boxes for his cars? Homeschool. Little Miss C's obsession with colonial days? That totally counts as homeschool.


However, a few weeks ago, I saw one of those 'build your own solar system' kits at the craft store, and having always wanted to make one, bought it on a whim. A trip to the library followed and I checked out a whole pile of books on the sun, planets, comets, gravity, et cetera. This led to some of the most structured schooling we've ever had.


I decided to cover one celestial body per day. We started with the Sun-- reading books, looking up facts online, drawing pictures, writing down our favorite discoveries and building a sun dial. 


With Mercury, we learned all about iron, gravity {you would weigh less on Mercury!} and the Greek and Roman mythology surrounding the naming of the planets. 


Venus, which we studied on Friday, proved to be the most exciting thus far. Its days are longer than its years! The sun rises in the West instead of the East! Its hot, noxious atmosphere melts all our probes! Discussing the atmosphere on Venus necessitated an introduction to the Greenhouse Effect, which we illustrated with an experiment.

We let the two bowls of water sit out all day and night. The next morning, the Earth bowl contained cool water, whereas the glass cloche on Venus was foggy with condensation, and the water was hot!


Today we study Earth, which E has been itching to do since we started our little foray into the solar system. :) Homeschool is awesome. 

Two Books

I read. A lot. And much of what I read is grabbed randomly off of shelves at the library, chosen for their cover, a color, a turn of phrase or just because they were at a convenient proximity. Every once in a while, my method of random selection leads me to hit the proverbial jackpot. I find a book that I can't put down, that haunts me for days afterwards, and remind me why it is that I love reading. These are two such books.

"Room" is told from the perspective of five year old Jack. He has spent his entire life within a single room. through his eyes, a dark subject is taken on with wonder and tenderness. "Half Broke Horses" is from the same author as another favorite, "Glass Castle". It tells the story of Jeanette's maternal grandmother {a real spitfire of a woman}.

Everyone is busy during the holiday season, but if you can, take a moment for yourself. Soak in a bath and read one of these books. Or at least put them on your Christmas list. :)

Deathly Hallows

Okay, so I made fun of Twihards-- but then I have to admit that I'm pretty much a Harry Potter geek. After seeing the newly released trailer for the Deathly Hallows, I have chills.

I'm especially excited because many of my gripes with the last book {the way Ginny, Neville, and other peripheral characters were ignored; Snape's last scene only being poignant in retrospect, after the reading audience had more information; and the rather anticlimactic final duel} all hold the promise of being 'fixed' in the movie, simply due to the demand cinema hold for drama. Books can meander. Movies can not.

Aw man. I. Can. Not. Wait.

Off Air

I'm taking a little blogging break. Have a great {early} weekend and I'll be back Monday!

Attack of the Mutant Food

Thanksgiving is approaching so naturally, I've been thinking about food. And how unnatural it has become.

Don't get me wrong, I love to eat. And there are times when I'm pleased as punch about such modern marvels of science as Twinkies and Cool Whip {what is that stuff anyway?}. But I'm a Seattle granola-girl at heart, and with the recent slew of documentaries we've been watching combined with the farming and sustainable living wisdom that trickles down to me from my father, I've become completely horrified by how unrecognizable food has become.

We've become reliant on a very delicate economy in order to eat. And the food we eat is so far removed from the way our forefathers ate, we're killing ourselves and our farmlands. It's a mess.

Want to learn about corn subsidies that make fresh fruit more expensive than processed foods? Or about what highly addictive High Fructose Corn Syrup is and why it's in everything? Watch King Corn.

Want to learn about genetically modified seed? How it's putting farmers out of business promoting the use of pesticide? How about the way cattle are fed corn, which causes an epidemic of e. coli in our meat? The inhumane and unhealthy conditions of feed lots and slaughterhouses? The way animals are now bred to grow so large and fast, that chicken's legs can't even support the weight of their own bodies? Watch Food Inc.

Want to learn just how bad fast food is for you? Or how McDonalds is similar to tobacco companies? Watch Supersize Me.

Want motivation to shop local? Watch Walmart: the high cost of low prices.

After we did just that, I spent a day looking at the food around me like it was poison. Then I got past that and decided to just do what little I could. We planted a garden. We found a way to get local, organic produce from a farm {just a mile away!} through a system called Community Supported Agriculture. We get our eggs from our own cage free chickens, but we decided to only buy Wild Alaskan Salmon, grass fed beef and local, organic, free range heritage chickens {no more Tyson!}.

I have to be realistic. I still buy cereal and graham crackers and stuff, high fructose corn syrup and all. But I also try to cook more. And I'm mindful.

And knowing is half the battle! {YO JOE!}

:)

My Girlfriend's Back

Remember my hairdresser friend who managed to save my green hair? Well, after a short stint in the Beehive State, she's back! And my hair is ever so grateful. I was so happy after spending the afternoon with her, I decided to show off my haircut using Photo Booth...

Then Little Miss C decided to join in on the fun. {Doesn't this make you long for Halloween?}

"POP goes my heart!"

Watch out for this Mother-Daughter crime fighting team! I have a finger-gun and I know how to use it.

Why so serious?

The End.

"Gee, Dad, I never thought of it that way!"

Isn't this the coolest little science kit you've ever seen? If I could afford it, I'd buy it under he guise of 'homeschooling supplies', though it'd likely take up residence somewhere prominent so I could admire it regularly. *sigh* They really don't make 'em like they used to.

{Speaking of science, I've been pouring over Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics. It's hilarious and educational!}