It's here!

The new blog is here!  Thanks for your patience as I navigate the fun new technicalities of WordPress.  You can now find me at: www.intuitiveintrovert.wordpress.com .  See you over there!

Changes Abound

Well, school is finally out, and the shape of my days is changing.  And that's not all!  This blog will be changing over to WordPress on the recommendation of multiple friends and family members.  While I am changing all of that, I thought I would change the title of the blog as well.  So keep your eyes peeled!  Big changes are coming...and they are coming fast.  See you over there!

Why I did not go to church on Good Friday

Today I wrote a guest post on the Living Stones Community Blog:

I spent the majority of my growing-up years in churches where, if you loved Jesus, you showed up "every time the doors were open."  If there was a service, you were there with a smile pasted on your face and a Bible under your arm.  Let's just say: it was a policy aimed at quantity rather than quality....

To read the remainder of this post, visit the blog here.

Let me know what you think!

The Tale of a Fateful Trip

You may recall our trip to Lowe's last year.  You would think we would have learned something about small cars.

Evidently not.

This year, determined not to make the same mistake, we engaged my sister-in-law and her SUV to transport the wood for our new garden box as well as Adirondack chairs we purchased in order to spend some time actually enjoying our huge back yard this year.  All went smoothly in the way of transportation, and we felt quite clever.

Then we decided to purchase soil for our garden box from a business that sells bulk soil instead of buying hundreds of bags from Lowe's.  Again, we basked in the golden sunlight of our cleverness.

However, in order to move the soil to the actual garden box, we needed some tools.  Namely, a wheelbarrow.  Which we did not yet own.  So off to Lowe's we went again, selected the smallest (and incidentally cheapest) wheelbarrow we could find, loaded it with mushroom compost (to enrich the soil), paid for everything, and headed to the car.

At this point, it occurred to us. 

We have a small car. 

Perhaps we should have realized this sooner, but...

The wheelbarrow definitely was not going into the car.  We tried it at a variety of angles, in multiple openings.  It just wasn't going in.

After several phone calls to people with larger cars (no one answered), we sat down to think.

My darling husband decided it was time to take matters into our own hands and Solve the Problem.  As it was the wheel of the barrow that stood in the way of our plan, we wondered if we might remove it.  After examining it, I found that it was only secured to the axle with a screw on either side of said axle.

Liam, the Problem Solver, announced that he would borrow a screwdriver.  I, of course, scoffed that such a thing would surely not happen.  But off he went, confident that there would be a screwdriver to borrow.  And, amazingly, there was.  We removed the wheel, proud of ourselves for being clever (starting to see a pattern here yet?), and attempted to shove place the wheelbarrow into the trunk.

It still didn't fit.

However, with the wheel removed, more of it was in the trunk than out.  So we decided to cut our losses and get out of there.  While returning the screwdriver, Liam found that there was twine by the door that was available for tying down trunks.  So we tied the trunk down and delicately drove home, with the barrow bumping the whole way.

And that is how we learned that cleverness is no match for a small car and a large wheelbarrow.  But a small car and a large wheelbarrow are no match for Liam the Problem Solver.

Sarah Returns, Spring Break, and Sunrise Juice

Long time no see, right?

 

I apologize for my terrible blog-posting record the past couple of months.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was spending all of my energy corralling a large group of extroverted 2nd graders.  Yeah.  That didn't leave enough energy to put away my clean clothes, let alone write blog posts.  So, I am sorry, but it was unavoidable.

 

Now it's spring break!  And I have a highly efficient aide.  So hooray for sleeping in past 4:45.  And yippee for reading a book in longer than 10-page increments.  A whole week of Saturdays...  I am a happy girl!

 

 

 

Speaking of energy, have you ever tried juicing?  I was recently introduced when my sister and I took on this detox diet from Whole Living for the season of Lent.  Our first week, the only things we could eat were fruits, vegetables, nuts, and lentils.  Our breakfasts were either juice or smoothies.  So I borrowed my MIL's juicer for the six weeks, and experimented.

 

I stumbled upon this discovery.  Although it is not a detox juice, it is a delicious juice.  And it will give you an amazing spike of energy.  It's very seasonal during late January/early February if you live in Florida.  Probably later if you do not.  It is beautiful.  It is smooth.  And if you have a juicer, you must try it!  If you do not have a juicer, you should make friends with someone who does and convince them to make it for you.

 

Without further ado:

 

Sunrise Juice

 

Ingredients:

2 oranges

12 strawberries

2 large or 3 small carrots

 

Cut carrots and oranges into smaller pieces so they will fit into the juicer.  Push all of the fruits and vegetables through the juicer.  Mix the juices together and drink immediately (if you like it chilled, add some ice).  Don't forget to clean your juicer before everything gets crusted on!

 

If you try it, let me know what you think!

Waiting: A Liturgy

I.

Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And blessed be his kingdom, now and for ever.
Amen.

***

The raw beauty of the liturgy gripped me that day.  I was present in church in a way I never before had been, my feet rooted to those wooden boards, my knees gravity-tugged to the ground.  When I stumbled into the sunlight afterwards, disoriented, I could hardly answer the question: "How did you like it?"  I knew then.  God was there.

View the rest of this guest post on the Living Stones Community blog here

You Need This in Your Pantry!

Let me introduce you to an ingredient that will change your life!  I am not even kidding you -- you need to buy this right away.

 

 

Navitas Raw Cacao Powder
It is a raw version of a cocoa powder that does not have the nutrients cooked out of it.  It is categorized as a "superfood," but that's not why I love it!

The taste is amazing!  It is a rich chocolatey taste, deeper and more nuanced than a regular cocoa powder.

Use it in ice cream!  Use it in cookies, hot cocoa, brownies, cakes...it will kick up the taste several notches.  If you love chocolate, you will adore this.  If you like healthy foods, you cannot live without this any longer.

It is not sweet, but it is the ultimate in chocolate taste.

I buy mine at vitacost.com, but you can probably also find it at a health food store.  Go forth and find it!  You won't be sorry!