Time Capsule Tuesday- Duck, Duck, Burrito

Keith and I love Baja Fresh for many reasons.

We love their pico de gallo and chips.  We love that it's fast, but not fast food.  We love that we can split a burrito and still feel full.  We love how friendly everyone is in there.  We love how clean the restaurant always is. We love that they put out coupons every week so we can eat for about $5 total.  We even love the high chairs they have because Natalie's clean cover thing fits into it just perfectly.  

Recently we watched an episode of Undercover Boss that featured the CEO of Baja Fresh.  (Ironically, on the same night that we happened to have had dinner there.)  If we didn't love it enough before, we love it even more now.  He was an amazing Christian man who was humble enough to admit where his company needed work, smart enough to really listen to the employees, generous enough to bless several individuals with great opportunities in the end, and brave (and obedient) enough to pray openly on national television- multiple times!  

But this post really isn't even about Baja Fresh.  (But seriously, give them business.  What a deserving company!)

It's about our adorable little girl who we take with us when we go there. 

Natalie's at that stage where (most of the time) she can follow directions well, so we're giving her more and more freedom in restaurants.  The last few times we've been to Baja Fresh, we've allowed her to walk on her own, following us to and from the table, salsa bar, drink center, etc.  That's where the cute part comes in. 

Baja Fresh has those rope lines directing people where to stand when waiting in line.  When walking from one area of the restaurant to another, you have to walk around them.  That is, unless you are only a couple of feet tall and then you can easily walk under them.  Somehow though, Natalie got it into her head that she might hit her head on it and started ducking, completely unnecessarily.  It was so cute that after the first time, Keith and I encouraged her to "duck!" the next time she passed under them.

Now every time she passes under them, she quacks.

Counting It All Joy #15-43

For these and so many more...
#15-43

A call from my brother.  So proud!
Chapstick fun and voluntary thank yous
An office window view
News of a newborn
Waking to sunshine
Morning cuddles
Sound of keys in the door
Ketchup face
A surgery gone well
Grandparents-near and far
"Helloooooo" echoes
Surprised face
Life lessons in the kitchen
"Ellow!" (for yellow)
Sound of lawnmowers (hello Spring!)
Late night snuggles
Starting family foundations
Sun breaks at just the right time for my heart
Country landscapes
Uncontrollable giggles
Sore arms
Muscles to climb stairs with
Red roses
New schedules
Hand motions to songs
Christian kids music speaking to grown up hearts
Lazy days
Tickles
The big "alllll" building

Still counting...

Love,
Krissi

Frugal Friday- Franz Bakery Outlet

I'd love to be one of those women who fills her house every other day with the sweet smelling aroma of fresh oven-baked bread.

I'm not.

One, I can't cook. Two, I don't even like to cook.  And finally, we really just don't eat that much bread, so to put the effort out for a couple of slices, well, it's hard for this kitchen-illiterate wife to justify.

Still, I like to fantasize about doing it one of these days.  Sometimes I'll look up recipes online or flip through cookbooks.  I've even paused in front of the yeast section at the grocery store.  You see, even though I can't cook and I don't like to cook, I really want to like to cook.  I think that deep down I really just want to live on a farm and grow and bake all our food from scratch and milk a cow and all of that.  Or maybe I just read too many Little House on the Prairie books as a kid. 

Either way, for now, baking bread for us daily remains on my "to do someday" list and I'll continue to grab a loaf from the store.

We're a big fan of Franz bread.

Keith loves the Whole Grain White variety.
Natalie and I like the Columbia River Sweet Dark Multi Grain.
(If I had to be completely honest, I'm a total white bread person, but I've forced myself to switch.  The whiter the bread, the sooner you're dead.)

I usually just buy our bread at whatever grocery store has the best price or whatever one I'm going to, but for the whole grain varieties, it sometimes gets expensive.  And to find affordable organic bread is even harder.

I had heard about the Franz bakery outlet and passed it once or twice, but had never actually made it in.

Last week I finally made it a priority to visit it.  It was fantastic!  We were on our way home from Winco and it's only a block or two out of the way, so it was well worth it.

We got a loaf of the Whole Grain White bread for $1.17. Usually I'm thrilled to find that kind for $2!
We also got a loaf of Organic Sweet Oats bread for $2.19. I have never found organic bread for that price.  Ever.

Another bonus is how friendly they are in there!  Natalie had fallen asleep and (very uncharacteristically) continued to sleep in my arms as I shopped.  The lady who checked me out whispered the whole time so as not to wake her and slipped a bag of frosted animal crackers into our bag for "when the little angel wakes up." You don't get that at other stores!

If you have an outlet near you, check it out!
Here's the one we went to:

Franz Bakery Outlet
10840 SW Cascade Tigard, OR 97223
503-639-6806

Until the Laura Ingalls Wilder in me decides to make her grand appearance, I think I'll be frequenting this place. A lot.

Time Capsule Tuesday- Precious Moments

As a kid, I always loved looking at those little Precious Moment figurines. Besides being adorable, they just did such a good job at capturing the emotion of each experience they represented.

Natalie is at such a great age.  

Fortunately for us, she copies EVERYTHING we do.

Unfortunately for us, she copies EVERYTHING we do.

It's a great feeling to be an example to her.  Terrifying, but great.

Recently she's picked up on my affinity for chapstick.  I'm not much of a lipstick girl, but chapstick is my best friend.  One day, I noticed her lips were a bit dry and I put some on her.  Since then, any time she sees the little tube come out she starts her little mantra,

"Mama! Mama! You, you, you, you, you!"

Interpretation: "Mommy! I see you have chapstick and I want some, I want some, I want some!"

(Natalie calls herself "you."  As much as we've tried to teach her to say "me" or "I" it's just not happenin'.  I don't mind really because when she's screaming "you, you, you!" at other children it sounds nicer than if she was screaming "me, me, me!"  People assume she's just a really enthusiastic sharer.)

 

The other day, we were in the car driving to Target. At a red light, I pulled out my chapstick and put some on.  She noticed.  I handed it back to her to let her put some on.  

What she did next just made my day week month.  Before she put any on she looks at me with those big smiling eyes and says "Mama, mama!" and then signs "thank you."  

Without. Being. Prompted.  

So very, very precious.

If only they could make a little figurine of that moment.

Frugal Friday- Home Haircuts!

I passed a sign today for Great Clips and it made me smile. 

They are having their Great Haircut Event right now where you can get a cut for $7.99.

Once when Keith and I were dating, he mentioned that I could cut his hair.

Um, no.

The first, last, and only time I had ever been entrusted with cutting someone's hair I got halfway through and cut a big nick out of his ear. (Still sorry Aaren.) 

So, not surprisingly, Keith continued to get his hair cut at the local barber through the years of our dating and engagement in Eugene. The guy was great, he was located right off of campus, he'd been cutting young student's hair for decades, and he was cheap. 

Then we got married.  Up in Portland, Keith started going to the local Great Clips. 

 It wasn't a "great" cut,  but it was cheap and as a plus, he always came out with both ears in tack.

 

Then the lady he liked left.  

So he tried the new girl.  

And another new girl.  

And a different Great Clips. 

It was bad.

Remember as a kid when you thought it would be fun to cut the hair off of your dolls?  So you started cutting.  But then it wasn't quite straight, so you kept cutting.  And cutting.  And eventually your dolly Sally was now dolly Bob with a bad haircut?  

Okay, so his hair didn't look that bad, but when he asked again if I'd be up for cutting is hair, this time I thought twice.  

I kept looking at the back of his head with his new diagonally sloping hairline and thinking, "I couldn't do worse than that."

So we bought the little buzzing hair cut kit and one night we tried it out.  

Poor Keith.

I was a smidge paranoid about messing it up, so I decided to make up for my lack of skill by making it into a marathon long event where I would cut 1/100 of an inch off at a time.  It took so long that the thing actually got so hot we had to turn it off and take a break to let it cool down so I didn't leave burn marks on his head.

Fast forward two years.  I still cut upside down (apparently) but I get the job done in about 10 minutes and so far have only had about 2 bad haircuts. Considering that we spent about $15 for the whole haircutting kit, this also saves us a lot of money over the year.  And if I can do it, well, seriously, ANYONE can do it. (A patient husband helps.)

Great Clips, Sh'mate Clips.

Time capsule Tuesday (a day late!)

Those cute things she does now...that I never want to forget!

Loves playing in puddles!

Puts lotion on Daddy's chin and cheeks because he is always scratchy...especially at night!

Says "neow" instead of "meow"

Calls socks "haaas."  Apparently it's a mix of hot and socks.  Socks do keep your feet warm- brilliant baby at work.

"Hides" under our glass table.

Is obsessed with RaRa (Cierra) and looks for her EVERYWHERE.

Platypus lips kisses

Open mouth kisses

Tells her own first joke.  This is how is goes:

Natalie: Points at the butterflies in her room.

Me: What's that?

Natalie: Quack, quack!

Me: That's not a duck silly!

Natalie: (Big goofy smile) Quack, Quack!

Me: (Tickling) That's not a duck you silly girl!

Loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Says "deeeeyurs" for "Cheers" and says "Dah" for Mickey (we think she's saying hot dog because of the hot dog dance, which is probably her favorite part of the whole show. She watches and kicks her little feet along with the characters.

Recognizes every color as "buuu!" (Blue), every letter as "tuh" for T and anything with a quantity as "two!"

Being that lady

Today I was that lady.

The one with the overflowing grocery cart, the handful of coupons, and the squirmy toddler.
The one who turns around and tells the next person in line, "Sorry, but you might just want to try another line."
The one who had it all planned out, but couldn't quite explain it to the cashier clearly enough.
The one who thought a giant sealed bag of M&Ms was a harmless distraction to give a toddler...and the culprit behind "Clean up on Isle 8 please."

All for this...

Yes, that is 30 boxes of cereal and 10 9 1/2 bags of M&Ms (remember clean up on isle 8?.) I also got 3 milks, but I draw the weirdness line at pulling them out of the fridge so I can take a picture of them. (Because taking a picture of your 30 boxes of cereal and 9 1/2 bags of M&Ms is totally normal...)

Why did I buy this much cereal, M&Ms and milk you ask?
Because it was a GREAT deal of course!

I got:
30 boxes of cereal (20 Rice Krispies, 10 Corn Flakes)
10 gallons of free milk coupons (used 3 right away, have 7 left to use later)
10 bags of M&Ms (all free)
With some coupons (and after I get my rebate) I'll have paid: $14.10
You can read more about the deal here.
Thanks Frugal Living NW
(The M&Ms won't be listed.  The boxes of Rice Krispies I bought happened to have coupons on the front of them for one free bag of M&Ms with every two Rice Krispies or Cocoa Krispies you bought. Also, my total price is higher than her examples because I only had a couple Kellogg's coupons. The free milk is for any brand of milk up to $3.99 and can be used at any store that will take them.  I plan on using some of them for the Organic milk we buy for Natalie and paying the difference.)


Okay, so even if it was a great deal, what am I going to do with all this cereal, milk, and candy?

Glad y'asked.
Well, for one, eat it.  Keith and I eat cereal for breakfast every day except on the exceptional Saturday when I get domestic and make a proper breakfast for us.
Milk is kinda like water around here.  We will easily drink 10 gallons in the next 3 weeks.
And as for the candy, well, we'll just call that cheap therapy. =)

But, as I imagine we'll get a little sick of Rice Krispies and Corn Flakes and having large quantities of my biggest unhealthy temptation around is probably not great for the waistline, I also plan to donate much of it to our local Food Bank.

A frugal living blog I follow is doing a great event called Couponing for Community May 8-14.

May is National Stamp Out Hunger Month and it's super easy to donate.  You should be getting a paper bag in the mail at the end of this month from the Post Office to fill with food and leave for your postman.  (Or you can load it all up and take it to a drop-off location.) 

The good price on the cereal ends tomorrow, so if you want this deal (for yourself or your community!) head to Albertson's soon!

Yep, today I was that lady.

Gladly.

Just a few...

1.Trees in bloom and a rainbow stretched across the East Portland skyline.
2. An American flag standing tall atop a building, glowing in the sunlight.
3. Natalie saying "pee-uuuu!" and pointing at a mud-covered jeep.
4. Linen napkins folded nicely.
5. Smells of Spring
6. Heavy sleep-breathing on little lips
7. Rainbow colored candies scattering across hard, dull store isle floors
8. The saucer eyed little girl who surprised us both by opening the M&M bag.
9. Chocolate lip kisses
10. Tiny hands on my cheeks, directing my eyes
11. Handsome husband, all dressed up
12. Tall buildings
13. Twirling dizzy with Natalie
14. Unpacking a great deal

The after moments

Every once in a while, something happens in my life that shapes my life profoundly.  While I realize that every moment has great significance (something I'm discovering more and more of recently!) there are a few that seem to change my life so much that the rest of my life is now characterized by being the after that moment. 

Everyone has them.

The moment I peered into his eyes, his soul, and promised forever.

The moment I saw the two pink lines.

The moment they layed her on my chest.

You know, those moments.

I think God speaks to everyone in their own native language. Their own heart-language.  Mine has always been literature.  Funny thing is, I didn't even know it until this year.  

I was talking with a friend, a new developing friendship, and was asked about my testimony- how I came to ask Christ into my life.  I explained about my sporadic childhood Sunday school attendance and how my parents introduced me to God and His Story. I talked about how my mom had continued to pour influence into my life by giving me Christian music and books.  And how at 13, in the middle of my parent's marriage crumbling, in the beginning of my growing out of childhood and into that scary teenage world, He called me through a story.

It was about a girl. Fourteen.  Who loved to daydream and thought boys were cute and really didn't know much about God and Jesus and all of that.  Who longed for something deep, real.  It was filled with Scripture quotes, and it breathed new life and hope into my life.  The main character's name was Christy.  

And it was not a coincidence.  

God used that story penned with ink and paper to open my eyes to the Love story he was writing on each moment of my life.  To woo me to Him through good and bad.  

And while I have turned away, even ran away, He's pulled me right back. 

The last few years I've felt the tug.  Slow. Steady.

I've heard the whispers.  Soft. Faint. Strong.

Look. See. Open your eyes.  It's all for you daughter. It's from Me.

I live a very blessed life.  The last few years have hardly even been rippled with anything hard, anything difficult.  And yet still I wait.  For that phone call or the word from a loved one, a friend even. I wait for the siren to wail or the glass to shatter.  Something to tear my blessed, happy life apart.  

In the smack dab middle of a beautiful season of goodness and Light, I wait in paralyzing fear of the Dark seasons.  

Experience tells me they will come.  Even Scriptures reinforce the reality.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds." James 1:2
Notice it doesn't say if you meet trials.  

I wasn't even aware that I was allowing it to happen, but one little word was haunting me, consuming me and throwing a big, looming shadow into the light of my joy. 

When.

It's not like I haven't been enjoying this good life.  But there was this little voice always creeping in. 

Better enjoy it now...before the "when" happens and all this goodness, blessing comes crashing down.

What a terrible, horrible lie to believe.  How could I have missed the rest of that beautiful, gut-wrenchingly real verse?

Count. It. All. Joy.

Why?

Look daughter.  See.  Look what I've given you.  Just wait.  There's more.

The whispers were getting louder.  My prayers slowly consisted of more "thank you fors" than "please help me withs."  I didn't even notice.

Teachings on Sundays, talks with husband, family, friends; they all started the pointing, the directing. I knew my heart was being directed, on a quest for something more, something bigger. But it was like getting directions in a foreign land in a language that I don't speak.

"We don't yet see things clearly.  We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist.  But is won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!" 1 Corinthians 13:12 The Message

The fog was heavy, but the search was on.  I still didn't even notice. Fortunately for me, God's good at getting my attention...even when I'm wasting it away.  It happened slow.

I was looking for coupons.  Happened upon a  link.  Which took me to a completely unrelated but wonderful blog written by a woman who had lost her baby.  Who also helps lead a book club online.  I kept coming back.  Kept peering into her life, gaining some encouragement, wisdom, and laughs through her words.  She introduced the next book they would study.  The enthusiasm for the book's author seemed to nearly ooze out of every word.  I followed the link to the author's blog.

And started to read.  And started to change.  And started to see.  

I put her book on my "to do" list.

Months went by. My husband encouraged me to dive into His Word daily.

And He kept pulling.  

I saw it at my friend's house.  Mentioned that I really want to get that book.  She loaned it to me. 

And God Spoke.

One Thousand Gifts A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are.
To live now.  To live thanks.  To live yes.  To live Grace.  

Count. It All. Joy.

The fog was lifting...

Through words spoke into darkness. Through carved tablets of stone. Through dreams to a young virgin.  Through a voice loud and clear.  A descending dove. Through a humble Teacher. Through drops of blood. Through living, pulsing, nail scarred hands.  

Through young adult fiction.  Through a mom's whisper.  A dad's tears.  Through a husband's embrace.  Through bouncing blond curls and laughing blue eyes. Through an internet search.  Through a dare to count the ways.

I'm taking the dare.  I'm counting.

Why?

Because it's good.

Because it's easy.

Because it's changing me and I love it.

Because how could I not?

Because I can hear Him now.

Because today is an after day.

Join me?

Love,

Krissi