Update: Maternity Photos, Garth, 2 Showers, Cirque, Extreme Makeovers, and Life in General

A lot can happen in a couple of weeks, especially leading up to having a baby. So let's knock out a few things first:

How do I feel? 
Pretty good overall. About 2 days a week I am too tired to do much of anything. Laying in bed all day is also uncomfortable and makes me feel so lazy because there's so much to get done but I really can't complain.
Am I ready to have the baby?
Yes. If I could have her today and she would be fully developed and perfectly healthy, I would happily admit myself. But she still has some cooking to do so I'm just gonna let the good Lord do his magic and be grateful (yet sleepy and big) for the experience.
Is the nursery finished?
The nursery is about 90% finished. We have some canvasses that some friends and family are working on that will finish the decorations and I think I should probably buy a lamp but other than that we are done with that project. When it's done I'll do a blog post.
Cravings?
Not really. Protein and milk shakes always sound good. I try to be reasonable because I don't want to spend the rest of my life trying to lose this weight. Nursing is only going to take me so far.

Everything with the baby is going well. We had our last ultrasound last week. She is weighing 5lbs 5 oz which is supposed to be right on track. They didn't have any concerns and wished us a happy delivery (where we get our ultrasounds is different than my normal OB). She moves all the time and we can see her from the outside which is fun. I started back in pre-natal yoga. I wish I knew as much about any topic as that woman knows about babies and pregnant ladies. I'm still not necessarily "nesting"... I don't think. I am determined to get everything out of our pantry so everything is fresh when she comes. That has made for some interesting dinners... I also plan to have a huge cooking party (of one) to make a bunch of frozen crock-pot meals and then I can just send Matt out to get the fresh items with a list I will have already prepared. That sounds right up my alley... I also feel really compelled to stock up on shampoo and toothpaste and such so if you have any coupons send em my way! So I don't think that's nesting... just preparedness. I think when I am nesting Matt will know it. Look out.


The weekend of Jan 17 was a busy one for sure.
On Jan 16 we took our maternity pictures. I wasn't really convinced I wanted to do them just because this isn't my favorite version of myself and I am vain. But I was afraid I would regret it. Tiger Photography did our pictures. The prices were very fair and she did a great job. She is also really nice and easy to work with.

^^^ This picture reminds me of the picture below. How things have changed!

And I think this picture basically sums up our pregnancy. 

We made a pact with two other couples to all try and get Garth Brooks tickets in Tulsa. We were all on a group text ready to click the moment they went on sale. I am so glad we made the pact because I was immediately put into a long line but our other friend got the tickets! I mean, it's Garth. GARTH. So we went to Inola after the maternity pictures and stayed the night with my parents.

We met up with Bryan and Jessica and went to dinner with Love and Sarah. Then we took the obligatory couple selfie at the concert.

 This is Sarah. She is married to the lucky securer of tickets. She knew far too few Garth songs. I hope this experience has changed her forever. And by changed her, I mean inspired her to buy the boxed set. That sounds like an archaic statement but that man's music is too hard to get electronically.

Twas a GREAT concert. I was getting a little uncomfortable because well...  I just get restless at events these days but it was totally worth it. He played all the great songs. He put on an awesome show. Way to go Love!

And then we had our first shower in Inola. This was a shower for the NE Oklahoma/NW Arkansas family and friends. My mom and Danielle threw this shower. It was really cute with a Patsy Cline/Music theme.

Of course my mom made an incredible cake. 

We got a lot of really nice and thoughtful gifts from handmade items to practical items to adorable clothes to put her in. All things that will come in very handy. We quickly realized we are so blessed to have people love on us and our daughter.

And here's mom and dad after the shower

The next weekend Matt and I needed to get away. I had a lot on my mind and some stress that a pregnant person probably shouldn't take on and I wanted to spend some time with my husband before our life gets nuts. The weekend before was a lot of fun but it's also hard to go go go. We had also promised Matt's parents that we would watch their dogs when they went to an event in Dallas which is only fair since they watch our dog pretty often.  So Friday night after Matt got off of work we headed to the lake house. 

We rented a Redbox and got some snacks and I brought some "Fre" wine which is basically white grape juice in a glass bottle. We had chocolate fondue in what is essentially a scentsy for fondue. This was one of our infamous impulse buys. We tend to do that. Keep us away from home and garden shows. And fairs. 

The weather was so nice that we took the boat out. 

And on Sunday before we left Matt and I ate at a barbecue restaurant in Durant and went to some antique stores. There was this place I believe called the "Junk Junction". We wanted a little end table for next to the glider in Cline's room and sure enough they had 2 about the size we were looking for. One was pink and one was blue. Of course the one I wanted more based on structure and design was the blue one. After some negotiation it was mine for $22. We got in the car and Matt looks at me and says "You're the most generous person I know until you're negotiating with someone." What can I say?
So we brought it home and Matt primed it and then painted it with left over paint from the nursery. I went to Home Depot and picked out a new door handle and bada bing we had a $26 end table. I love it. Now all I need to do is get a little lamp and I am totally done with the nursery. Unless I find a pink rug... and THEN I'll be done. But rugs seem to be expensive so I am willing to wait on that.

Here's the table positioned in the room

As one of my Christmas presents Matt got us tickets to the Cirque du Soleil show Varekai. We went to dinner before at Sushi Neko (yes, it was cooked) and enjoyed the show. It was a little too family friendly for me... and by that I mean there was a lot of silly humor that children 4-12 would be really into but I really like to just watch people do life-threatening acts like hanging from their foot from a trapeze bar. I wonder if it ever stops being an adrenaline rush? That's probably when you get hurt...

Anyway, overall a night out with my husband is always okay by me so it was a win. 

And then we had another shower this past weekend.

This is Andrew and Sarah. Not only are they able to score awesome Garth tickets, they have also been extremely gracious ever since the moment they found out we were having a baby. They have a little boy so they know what all of this is like and have been an awesome support to us. In addition to all of the nice things they have already done, they threw us a "B is for Baby, Beer and Barbecue" diaper shower which happened to also stand for Bedlam Basketball.

 Matt is still close to several of his Delt fraternity brothers so they and their wives came over and brought packs of diapers. It's a very "boy friendly" shower because there's no opening of gifts or anything, just hanging out and having a good time--with the supremely helpful benefit of a stock of diapers to get you started. Matt and I brought them all in and counted 'em up. 1,005 diapers were given to us at this party. 1,005. I wish I had any idea how long that will last, but surely a few months. Right? Right?

Sarah had asked me if I had anything I was particularly liking. I said root beer and macaroni and cheese. Abita beer is really good (go ahead, try it, if you're able). She found Abita root beer. I kid you not, I had the best root beer float of my life. They also made brisket, beans, and macaroni and cheese. The Mac and Cheese was to die for, and I consider myself quite the mac-n-cheese critic. 

And here's a picture with Joe because what blog post would be complete without him?

 It's been a whirlwind but also incredibly awesome. We have more to look forward to this weekend when many of my girlfriends come into town!

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An Ode to Joe

Nothing makes you feel old like your little brother turning 21, which is exactly what happened today. And by "little brother" I mean, we're 7.5 years apart, so that's a big enough gap for that to make me feel old. I used to hold that little guy! I remember very vividly the day he was born and my disappointment that despite them telling me so for several months, he was indeed still a boy. 

One of many Illinois River Float Trips

The age gap between Joe and I really is nothing short of genius on my parents' part. For one thing, we really don't have anything to fight about because we are never experiencing the same life events at the same time. As a result we are extremely close. Begrudging Joe of anything just makes me feel like a really petty person. He's just a baby! As long as my parents raised me right (and I mean c'mon), they had a built-in role model. As a result, Joe is actually pursuing the same Environmental Science degree path that I took. I don't think we will end up with the same sorts of jobs because we're different people, but it's pretty cool to have a brother who respects what you do enough to take it on himself. And financially, having us so far apart was just brilliance on my parents' part. Kids are expensive. They gave themselves recovery time, not to mention an additional 8 years of earning potential. And let's not forget the free babysitter.

I wish I had some pictures of Joe on hand from when he was little. He was really cute and he had such a calm demeanor. A very "go with the flow" child. When I was trying to negotiate birthday plans at Disney World, Joe would do stuff like, "How does the Golden Corral sound for my birthday dinner?" I kid you not. We had like 6 of Joe's birthdays at the Golden Corral. He was always so calm and didn't make a big deal out of anything. Maybe Cline will take after her Uncle Joe and not let anything bother her. Joe is just one of those extremely likable people. If anyone said they didn't like Joe I would assume they had a personality disorder.

So Joe, here's your birthday card for the whole world to see. I am tremendously blessed to not only know you, but to be your big sister. God had wonderful plans putting you in my life and I am better for knowing you. I admire you for your kindness, patience, athleticism, determination, and intelligence. I will never in my life forget your valedictorian speech where you thanked me for being a role model in your life. If I have had anything to do with the human that you are, I consider that an honor and that I must be doing something right because you have turned out wonderfully. Have a fantastic birthday. Be safe. Know that your big sis is always in your corner. I love you more than you'll ever know.

My College Graduation

Christmas 2011

He ran my first 5K with me

His Junior Prom (Before)

Another Hay Season

I LOVED watching him play basketball

Senior Pictures- Courtesy of Big Sis

My Wedding Day

One of our MANY trips to see Harry Potter

His HS Graduation

A Cruise-The Graduation present I promised him

2014 Mud Run 5K

2014 Dad's Day (I'm about 4 mo pregnant here)

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A Resolution We Can Actually Achieve-Plastic Bags

Something tells me this blog post isn't going to get a ton of traffic and that's okay. This is about something that I am passionate about (I say passionate, you may say crazy nut). Plastic bags.
As an environmentalist I try to maintain a balance between reducing and reasonable. I could totally make everyone I know and love crazy with environmental antics. For example, when it comes to the bathroom...I just think there is lower hanging fruit that we can venture to tackle before using reusable toilet paper (did you see that episode of extreme cheap skates? That's disgusting).

One thing that is super easy to do to reduce our impact on the environment is eliminating stupid plastic bags. I have talked about this before. I am going to talk about it over and over until it finally kills me. Death from exhaustion discussing the perils of plastic bags. My mother in law posted on my Facebook this link to Dallas ban on plastic bags. The video is something like 2 minutes but if you don't have the time (really?) then here's the gist. No more plastic bags at grocery stores. You have to pay five cents per plastic bag of which 90% goes to the city and 10% goes to the store. I love this. If you're a "Don't tread on me, you can't tell me I can't have plastic bags! This is a liberty!" kind of person all I can tell you is... tough. If that makes me an extremist liberal hippie...that's completely fine.

It might seem like I am being aggressive about this subject. It might seem like I am getting my way (in a place where I don't even live) and I just don't care what anyone else thinks and I am just that selfish of a person. But really, walk with me through this. I am finally in the habit of bringing my own bags to grocery stores. It took a little while. It seemed much more convenient to just take what they gave me. I finally, in college, decided that when I forgot I was going to make myself walk to my car and go get the bags that I leave in my trunk. It took about two of these annoying experiences and now I remember at the grocery store just about every time. Those reusable bags also hold so much more than the plastic bags do. Do you ever feel like the grocery checkers get a bonus if they hit a certain quota of bags given away? In reality they are probably just tired of being yelled at by people who have absolutely no regard for anyone else and demand more bags. I would be fired if I worked in retail for lecturing customers and refusing to give them bags they don't need. I would probably put that firing on my resume.
Anyway, so the convenience factor when it comes to plastic bags is actually negligible. More stuff in fewer bags makes it easier to get my items in my car and in my house. Remembering to take them in, I mean my goodness we could eventually teach a monkey to do this. Given about a dozen treats, I could probably teach Pistol.

Well what about cleanliness? Welp... reusable bags are made out of cotton. Do you know what else is made out of cotton? Your clothes. You wash those, don't you? So, periodically, I throw my bags into the washer especially if they tend to contain meats or produce items. Sometimes if I only need a few items, I also use my bags as a hand basket. Do you know how nasty those carts and baskets have to be? So am I saying that I might even AVOID germs by having my own bags? Well... yes. Yes I am. Crazy liberal hippie.
Speaking of cleanliness. An exception to the plastic bags ban is the use of produce bags. I also have reusable produce bags. But even when you think about it, I don't see the value in using produce bags unless you have something like green beans or brussell sprouts (multi-item produce). I realize that people probably want to avoid putting their produce on the conveyor belt due to germs. Okay, I see what you're saying. But are you seriously naive enough to think that a bunch of nasty unwashed hands haven't already handled your produce? You need to wash that when you get home. All of it. If you're going to wash it anyway, what does it matter if it's on the conveyor belt?

So I went to Kohl's the other day. If you need your baby fix, I got Cline some adorable pajamas with this Kohl's cash I had. I spent $0 if you need your extreme couponing fix. I told the woman checking me out that I didn't need a bag and I would just carry the items myself. She told me that I absolutely could not leave the store with merchandise without a bag. I knew that wasn't true because I do it all the time. Here's the deal, if you're not trying to steal anything, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to bringing in your own bags or refusing to accept them. I am more than happy to show my receipt to anyone that could potentially approach me (they never have--not even in department stores). It's not a big deal. I just got off the phone with the Kohl's store manager to make sure that it wasn't some store policy that you had have a bag (cloth or plastic) when checking out... maybe I had just been getting away with it this whole time. OF COURSE IT IS NOT TRUE! What's this lady's problem? Does that give her a sense of authority? "YOU MUST TAKE A BAG!". I should have taken my stuff out and handed the bag to her. But then she probably would have thrown it away instead of recycling it. And then my head would have exploded.

I thought about getting really scholarly for you in this section about the impact of plastic bags on the environment but that would probably be where readers stop reading and it would take me a ton of time to do in-text citations and what not-- but rest assured if you want to debate this I am ready to go down this path with you. Just google "Environmental Impact of Plastic Bags" or watch the documentary "Plastic Paradise." The consumption of plastic is a real and very present issue and if we would look up from our phones for a moment to notice the world around us, we would realize that we have to stop ignoring important issues.

And ya know the real kicker to all of this? Despite my efforts, I still some how end up with those stupid plastic bags. We use them as trash bags which I guess is better than buying plastic bags (generating more consumption--creating waste to hold waste) but I am fully prepared to come up with another plan if we could run out of them because we have FINALLY stopped consuming them.

So all I can say is, more power to ya Dallas! Keep up the good work! Bring this policy to OKC! To the entire US! The World!  I'll give a prize and highlight on my blog (a prize in itself, right?) to anyone living in the Dallas area that writes an essay six months from now on "How the ban on plastic bags has truly impacted my life for the worse." Something tells me there wont be any takers.

But let's take this down a positive path. If you're still with me... a great New Year's Resolution would be to cut out the consumption of plastic bags. You could legitimately get to 2016 saying, ya know what? I did it. I'll highlight you all OVER this blog if you tell me on January 1, 2016 that you cut your bag consumption by 75%. You can do it!

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Play Review: The Book of Mormon

Last night Matt and I moved date night forward to Tuesday instead of Thursday. If I am a smart woman I will for the rest of my life continue to date my husband. I have never regretted a dime we have spent investing in our marriage. Back in November we saw an ad in the paper for the play "The Book of Mormon." Matt's mom and I have been season ticket holders to the Broadway shows that come through town and we have really enjoyed it, but this was a separate show. I had heard great things about the show. I even tried to get tickets when it was showing in Chicago a few years ago and I couldn't even get a single seat.

We went to La Brasa for dinner. I HIGHLY recommend eating there. We have been twice now and ordered completely different things and they were both delicious. It's not cheap, but I wouldn't call it absurdly expensive either. I'd say it's appropriately priced for what you get.

Shanna: I think this might be my favorite restaurant. I love this place.
Matt: More than Giuseppes?
Shanna: Oh no, Giuseppes is definitely my favorite.
Matt: So your favorite Peruvian place?
Shanna: Yes, for sure. My favorite Peruvian place.. by far.

So here we are. Ready to start the show with our pretty good, but not over the top good seats.

Isn't Matt handsome?

 This is going to be great! This has won so many awards! This place is packed! Did you look into what this is about? Me either. But it's supposed to be hilarious.

So... I had a good feeling this was going to poke some fun at Mormonism. I mean, I knew it was produced by the creators of South Park.  I'm not one to really to poke fun at any religion because it's offensive and I know some lovely Mormon people. Do you know any Mormon people? In my experience with Mormons, they are the most genuinely kind people I have ever met. So in my experience I really have nothing bad to say about Mormons. No hostility coming from me*. When Mitt Romney ran for President, it didn't bother me a bit that he was Mormon. I thought some interesting issues might come up during his time in office but I was completely okay with that. If I ever run for political office, I would like to make it clear that I have only positive feelings towards Mormon people even if components of their religion are a little peculiar to me. So I wasn't going into this play hoping for an all out offensive Mormon bash. 

Well.... it turns out that this play made me (and Matt) pretty uncomfortable. As a Christian there were some topics that went waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay past the line for me and if I were a Mormon... whoa I would be ticked. It seems like with with performing arts, and arts in general there really are no rules. Like you're not cultured or something if you disagree with the topic. In all fairness, I should have looked into it more before buying tickets because when it comes to religious issues I don't really see it as "all in good fun." I'm not calling for the cancellation of the play but if you're thinking about buying tickets and you're sensitive to subjects which make a joke of [extreme] blasphemy... this probably isn't the play for you. 

So there's that. You can't win 'em all. There were some funny parts but given the funny vs uncomfortable ratio, I would rather spend my money and time elsewhere. 

* I'm not sure if you're allowed to make generalizations about a group of people even if it's positive so if that is in some way offensive, my apologies. 

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Second Trimester Wrap Up

Can you believe I am now on the third trimester? This is simultaneously going extremely fast and creeping along. I am currently 29 weeks along so I am a little late on this post. The second trimester has been much different than the first.

Thank GOODNESS my energy came back. And by come back I mean I am not sleeping 16 hours a day. I am much more tired than my "normal" self, but I am still calling this a victory. I have gotten so much more done the last 3 months which makes me feel much better.

I am also growing, of course. I have been getting comments from strangers--mostly of the "when are you due?" which I suppose is much better than the super rude stuff I have heard other people go through. I was sort of startled when the check out girl at Sam's Club said "I don't want to be mean.. but are you?" After I realized what on earth she was talking about (I was wearing a coat) I said "Yes, I am pregnant. But if I weren't, you would be in a lot of trouble right now." Why on Earth was it her business? Was her curiosity worth risking her job? But like I said, if that's the worst (so far) I'll take it.

One of my most recent blog posts was Shanna the Grouch and boy was I grouchy for several weeks. But then I snapped out of it and overall I have been really happy. We have had lots of events that have kept us busy and having a good time.

I volunteered to host Thanksgiving this year. It turned out great but I later realized that 6 months pregnant is not really a great time to host Thanksgiving. Or get all Pioneer Woman on the holiday. Simplicity is key. Lesson learned.

 I volunteered to work for the Salvation Army with Matt's grandma (which she is highly involved in) and it was a really rewarding experience--certainly worthy of my time.

Receiving the Gifts Purchased by Donors at the Angel Tree

Helping with Wrapping at the Distribution Center

Friends' Company Christmas Party at the Petroleum Club

 We have gone to a couple of Thunder games. They won both times...so it seems logical that maybe they should just give us tickets for good luck.

 And I hosted Christmas with my family this year. We made a much simpler meal which was still nice and tasty.

Oh- and we also found out the gender.

Yep it's a girl. And let me tell you something. Wives tales are for the birds!! The only one that was true was the Chinese Gender Predictor-- so there's all that I can contribute if you're wanting to know the gender of your baby. Well that, and she has had a higher heart rate. I mentioned that to our (grouchy) sonographer the day we had our ultrasound and she really condescendingly said "The heart rate has nothing to do with it" to which I replied "Well I wouldn't call dangling my wedding ring over my stomach good science but I did it anyway." She made it pretty clear that she did that all day every day and she was over it. 

But overall, finding out the gender of our little baby was a day in our marriage I will never forget. Matt took the afternoon off that day and we had a nice lunch and went shopping. She got her first pair of boots. I am sure her Grandpa McFeeters was very proud. 

A little back ground to the Grandpa McFeeters statement-- my dad is a cowboy. Like a real cowboy. Like wear a cowboy hat and boots every where you go kind of guy. I was riding horses before I was walking. Well, my dad was holding me on a horse before I was walking. And my parents have bought two miniature donkeys already for Cline because they are lower to the ground and she can learn to ride independently earlier. So yeah, there's that. 

Oh and her name. Cline Diane. Named after Patsy Cline and her momma (and Gigi). 

So let's go through the typical things like we did in the First Trimester Wrap Up. 

The Symptoms:

Overall I feel pretty good. If I am especially busy during the weekend (which is nearly always) Pistol and I take Mondays off and relax. He is a big fan of our Monday hangouts. Hormones may be a little wacky, but for the last several weeks I have just been joyful. I think I also talked myself into an attitude adjustment after I realized what a grouch I was being. 

I do have some congestion which I read is common. I have never been an allergy sufferer, but I think that is probably what this feels like. I sneeze all the time. A humidifier at night seems to be helping. 

My pelvis also hurts some times. I think I figured out that the height of our bed is a major contributor. So now I have a little step stool next to my bed. If you walked into my room you would probably be convinced that a 100 year old woman lives there. I have a stack of books on the end table, a bunch of vitamins, and a humidifier. Then my little step stool to help me get into bed. 

I am also  much warmer than I used to be, therefore I maintain the house much cooler than I used to. I think Matt and Pistol are being totally dramatic about these living conditions and I don't care. Get a sweater. And some socks. A hat if you need to. Honey, do you mind opening the patio door? Ignore the snow. 

Cravings:

The only weird craving I have had is rootbeer. I do not like rootbeer. I would choose water over rootbeer any day. I wonder if that means Cline will like rootbeer? 

Products:

Remember when I told you about this humongous pillow and that it was mostly in the way? 

Well shortly after that post this became a staple in my sleeping routine. I take it everywhere with me. Without it I think my back would kill me without proper support. I still hate the thing and can't wait to get rid of it but it actually is a huge sleeping blessing. I am exclusively a side sleeper now when I used to be a stomach sleeper. I am looking forward to that blissful evening when I get to sleep on my stomach again. It's the little things, folks. 

At the top of my Christmas list was "big lady pajamas." I now have several pairs of huge fleece pajamas that I hope to never fit into again mere weeks after she is born (unless we have another baby). Nothing looks more ridiculous than too small for you PJs. 

Birthing Class:

 During this trimester we finished our birthing class. If you're wanting to go down the natural childbirth route, I highly recommend a Bradley Course. It was really informative and I would be really nervous about our ability to stick to the natural childbirth without it. I am not saying you can't do it without it, I am just saying that I know Matt and I well enough that without being equipped with so much information, as soon as things got the least bit questionable we probably would have given in and said "Do what you will!" and then told ourselves that we really should have come into the whole thing more prepared. You can totally gather this information via books and other research (and especially if you hire a doula), you just have to have enough will power to gather that information for yourself. 

The Bump: 

Welp, like I said. I am officially a pregnant-looking person. I did take a picture of myself in the bathroom mirror for my own reference but I just can't bring myself to post it. Bathroom pictures are the worst! It's against my code. We all have our own codes of conduct and that's part of mine. I am in maternity clothes about 75% of the time. I even made a box of clothes to revisit in the summer. They were just taking up space for the time being. Many pairs of pajamas went into that box. 

Being Touched:

I haven't had a stranger touch me so all is good in this category. I can feel her not only on the inside, but also on the outside. I can even see her when I am still. That is pretty cool and very alien-like all at the same time. I love when other people can feel her I guess because it's like physical proof that this magical event is occurring. I don't know. You think weird things when you're pregnant (at least I do). 

Things People Say:

I still can't talk about this category without being passive aggressive. 

In kind of related news, have you ever noticed that when anyone posts something on Facebook about their kids people reply about their own kids? This hasn't really happened to me, this is just an observation about other people. Give 'em the thumbs up and just let the poor person have their moment! 

Here's to the third trimester! Before too long I get to meet my baby girl. I have so many dreams for her that I could tear up thinking about it. I actually did tear up thinking about it this morning. They say the third trimester is pretty horrible... we will see what it brings! 

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Green is a Christmas Color

I LOVE Christmas. I really do. When your love language is gifts, it doesn't get much better than Christmas time. I have felt pretty good lately and since buying gifts is currently the most fun thing I am allowed to do, I have embraced the holiday pretty well. I wouldn't say I have gone overboard, I have just been able to be pretty thoughtful about the whole thing. I really love to buy gifts for Matt. He is easy to shop for. We decided to make "our" Christmas morning this morning because my parents will be here later and then we're headed to see his parents for the rest of the week/weekend so it was our only chance to get in a little alone Christmas celebration time.

I kind of struggle with an ethical dilemma with Christmas though. Of course you know that I am an eco-minded person with less of just an interest and more of a conviction to do what I can to protect the environment. You know those cross-stitch signs that typically older people have in their home that says "As for Me and My House, We Will Serve the Lord"? Well the version in our house should say that, and then below in a much smaller font say "... and Protect the Planet."

But what on Earth does "protect the planet" mean? Well I know I can't single-handedly do anything truly impactful myself... but I can live by a policy which requires that we are conscious of the responsibility of taking care of our consumption. We have to realize and actively pursue and approach to life that says "There is no 'away' in 'throw away'" and treat being stewards of the environment as a pillar of our faith. So how do we solve the ethical dilemma of wanting to embrace this holiday which contributes to so much joy while still being mindful of our consumption?

Well here's the Shanna Approach to Holiday Eco-Mindedness:
First- Chill on the presents. Especially with the kids. Let's create a scale of Childhood Happiness and Excitement. This scale is from 0-10. 0 being "We ain't gettin' nothing' for Christmas" and 10 is "WHAT AN AWESOME CHRISTMAS, I AM SO HAPPY!!". Okay so the majority of us Westerners tend to aim for a 10 with the kids. We can't help it, we want our kids to be happy. We can't carry the guilt of our child feeling like they didn't have the "Best Christmas Ever" year after year. I get this and I don't really have (that many) judgments about it. I haven't even had a child look at me with their sweet little eyes and tell me their greatest Christmas wishes and I already get that the pressure is heavy. But stay with me. Back to our scale. Okay so let's just assume that we're aiming for a 10 every time. Fine. Whatever. This still does not mean that you need a gazillion presents per child.
A child can only express so much happiness over Christmas. You can still be a 10 parent with a few gifts, especially if you listen to your kids about what really has value to them. After you have hit the 10 status then the value of each following gift just diminishes in value and it just more junk in your house. Then what do you do? Throw away the old stuff they are bored with... and the cycle continues. It's okay to choose quality over quantity. Your kids will still love you for it. And if not... well you may have some other parent/child issues you need to address. And yes, next year you can remind me of this. And maybe it's too late this year. I mean, it's Christmas Eve. Hopefully you're done shopping. Another good idea is to take the number of gifts you gave your kids this year and let them pick out that number to donate to a deserving organization. And make them help you clean them up and put them in a condition that someone else would actually want to buy them used. Goodwill is not a substitute trash can.

Second- Packaging matters.
Please become the kind of person that realizes that the VERY LEAST we can do in this consumption-based society (and holiday) is just be responsible about the packaging. YOU HEAR ME?! THE LEAST. If you take nothing else from me and my blog, please realize that when we make a purchase, we are responsible for it. This means properly disposing of the mostly (or entirely) recyclable packaging and taking good care of our items so they can have a new life after we are done with them. Easiest way to tackle this during Christmas? You guessed it... wrapping paper and boxes.
Please recycle your wrapping paper. If you find yourself in a rural area that doesn't have recycling, go ahead and pack that stuff up in your car and take it when you get a chance. It is light, it doesn't have any odor, it will be fine in your car. This can be a great way to teach your kids and others about taking steps to be responsible for your consumption. If someone says something about it, just hand them another glass of eggnog and go about your business. It's not your problem if others choose to be ignorant about the limited resources on this planet.
I personally take the tape off because it's like 6 extra minutes of my time. I have called recycling facilities before and they said you can leave the tape on but I take it off just to be safe. That's your call (but I will be impressed if you take off the tape... just in case your recycling program has different requirements).

Here's the amount we recycled from this year.

Here's the amount that went into the trash.

Here's the amount that's being reused for next year.

Note: if you get a gift bag from me, I can't even tell you which life it is on, but I can guarantee it's not on its first.

I could go on for a long time about eco ideas, but I don't really want to get preachy and I want you to actually apply these things so I'll stop now. I wish you the merriest of Christmases. Go tell someone that you love them. Give extra hugs. Cherish these moments. Recycle your wrapping paper.

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Shanna the Grouch

For about the last month I have been really grouchy. If you know me personally the things I might complain about or comment on are really the extent of my feelings on issues. I don't have stuff all bottled up inside. So all in all, I'm actually a really happy and upbeat person. If I am grouchy for a while I notice and I even pray about it. I realize I am having a bad attitude and I want to be better. This was my Facebook post today:

This is mostly just funny but I totally will defriend people who do these things. A real friendship is not the same thing as a Facebook friendship and I feel that our real friendship will be better off if I don't see you post nonsense that falls into the categories above. But gosh Facebook rants aren't much better. If 15 people would have defriended me today for going on a Facebook rant I totally would have been on their side. Trying to fix the internet is silly, but gosh it made me feel better to get it off my chest.
I really should just not get on Facebook ever because I usually exit the app asking myself, "Why did I do that??" But something tells me that you were led to this post through Facebook.... so there are some upsides.

I am grouchy about a lot of things lately. I want to say it's hormones but it's such a cop-out to blame your actions/feelings on hormones. I want to own my feelings and my feelings are that I am mad at like nearly everyone. There's a situation I am currently dealing with where I just cannot effectively communicate with another person and I just feel like crud about it even though I honestly think it's totally their fault and Matt is on my side about it (or at least he's smart enough to say so).

Stuff with work is frustrating me. Right now I don't fall into the category of "people who think their job is so much more important/difficult than everyone else's" because right now my job is pretty easy and the only problem I have is people making it harder than it needs to be (note: I consider my dissertation to be part of my job because it's a requisite of my employment as a TA).

I am grouchy about my body. Things are changing so much and I am insanely grateful for this opportunity, no honor, to carry a baby. I can't help but be bummed that things are moving and growing out of my control...and those fools that say stuff like I do have control and this is my fault.. they make me grouchy too. And sleeping isn't very comfortable and I am terrified to sleep on my back because my yoga instructor framed it like the baby wouldn't get what she needs if I rest on my back and I forgot to ask my doctor about it. My doctor who has an Ivy-League education and 15 years of experience is the only person I listen to at all when it comes to pregnancy advice. That's my minimum requirement. And my mom because we are genetically connected. Everyone else I just politely listen to and forget about. One grouchy antidote is at the end of the day when I can feel her kicking.

I am getting really tired again and there's so much to do and that makes me grouchy. Hey Shanna why don't you get off the internet if you have so much to do?? I mean, Matt's going to be here in like 20 minutes and we are going to run errands so it's not really practical to do much else right now.

But then again, today I got three pretty cool pieces of information. One friend told me the gender of her baby. Another friend told me that she is going to have a baby. And another friend just a few moments ago had her baby. Prior to getting pregnant this information would have meant about 10% of what it means to me today because I just couldn't relate. Now I am filled with joy with this information and am so excited to get to share this chapter of my life with so many friends. I don't take this experience for granted because I know what a blessing from God this is, and I also know there's a lot of people that I know personally that would trade places with me in a heartbeat and I think about them every day.

I just need to perk up. I think I am going to pour myself into Christmas this year and just maximize all the happiness that I can. So if you're some sort of Grinch you should probably stay away from me and not rob me of my Christmas happiness because I will unapologetically defriend your grouchy butt.

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