My Merit Badge Adventures

know your best cellars

2012-01-29T20:39:00.000-08:00

Wine appreciation.... this one feels a bit controversial to write about since I was raised Baptist and have had more than one job where I have had to sign a document stating that I would refrain from alcohol. So, for those people that I love who are reading this and still feel the way that I felt when I was in my early twenties I want to share what it took to change my perspective... because at 22 I was still very much anti-alcohol.

I have a friend who developed a relationship with God a little later in life than my experience. He was in his late twenties, and was very much ok with drinking as a new Christian (which was a constant area of contention in our conversation). Months later a mutual friend started going to church with my friend and eventually decided that she wanted to follow God and become a Christian, and that mutual friend told me that she would not have made a decision to devote her life to God if our mutual friend had not regularly had a drink with her. That was huge for me. I did not start drinking the next day or anything... but after some reflection I decided that I felt differently about alcohol than what I had originally thought... And last night I had a drink with someone who has spent many years disregarding Chrsitianity and we had a wonderful discussion about faith.

Anyway, that being said over the last few years I have developed wine appreciation. William even took me on a date to stomp grapes at a winery. I have been to a few wine tastings and have discovered that Moscato is my favorite... particularly Moscato D' Asti. Olive Garden's is REALLY good.

Publix has two bottles that are almost always $5 and they are also really good. My favorite Red is Turning Leaf's Pinot Noir. The Biltmore also has a Red that I really like. William is good at pairing certain wines with our food and I think that is fun. I would like to host a wine tasting for some of my friends!

Personal Money Management

2011-06-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

I have worked or volunteered close to full time in nonprofits for about ten years. Money has never been that important to me. Obviously, I want to have enough to do the things that I enjoy but I can do that on an annual salary of about 26k to 30k. In my last position I was making about double that which was just astonishing to me. I thought that maybe I would make that much at the peak of my career twenty years from now. So, in my 6 month lucrative position I bought a company and enjoyed a very nice trip across California.

I've realized that people definitely consider around 30k not a whole lot of money. I also know that I'm pretty good with about that much. I have also busted everything that is in me over the last several years to make about 30k. After taxes a monthly take home paycheck is between $1600 and $1800. Of course, that usually includes benefits... but I'm just talking strictly cash.

Since people don't considere $1700 a month to be very much I started thinking it must be easy to find a way to bring in that much each month. And, after a little research I think it actually is! Look what I have discovered:

Housesitting or Hosting an International student: $500 a month
Renting out a room in your home: $600 to $800 a month
A Part time Job working about 10 hours a week: $500 a month
Contract Work: nannying/updating websites/ or selling personal items: $200 a month

You hardly even have to work! I was just shocked. Maybe the rest of the world already knew this. I did not. You clearly have to be flexible, and maybe even a bit entreprenual. You probably can't do this while you have teeny kiddos. However, this is definitely changing the way that I evaluate how I spend my time. Two part time jobs at about 30 hours a week total get me up to a 30k salary. It wouldn't take a lot of effort to be at double that ammount and that could all go into savings/401k accounts.

be a foster mom

2011-06-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I’m not signed up as a foster parent yet. William and I have been talking about it though. Not in a serious way… but in a “one step beyond all of those crazy dreams I am always having” way. What we are considering on an even more serious level is hosting an international student for an academic year. I am very excited about this. I have been talking with someone about hosting a 15 year old girl from China. She loves to volunteer and is into the arts. She is interested in journalism as a career. She can speak English conversationally and she will attend a Christian school in Cumming. We think it might be really fun! I found the post on Craig’s List so I still need to follow die diligence and make sure everything is legit. I have checked out the school’s website, but want to talk with someone there. She would be with us from August to May, and we have the option to renew for her remaining high school career if both she and we are interested.

I’m excited that she would add to our youth group at church! I think it would be a ideal because William and I are in a stage of life right now where we are around teenagers pretty regularly. So, she would have extra-curricular social opportunities through that.

This also fits in very well with the new job I have. William and I know a couple through our small group who has their own Book/Author Marketing Company. They met with William and I on Saturday and asked if I was interested. I definitely am! I really want a break from working in the non-profit field and also want the opportunity to work on her t-shirt company a bit more. This will provide that. I will work full days Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I can use my other days to work on Origin One. I’m really excited to work in this sector! They have to read books for their job! And update social media!

Anyway, back to the international student opportunity. A final perk is that it pays $500 a month. That is supposed to cover the additional costs for food or utilities, but $500 is very generous for that. Who knew hosting international students could be lucrative? Not me. This has started me on a new wave of thought. I will post on that next.

Open a Bed and Breakfast

2011-06-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

So, William and I think that we might actually want to do this some day. When we stayed in the B&B in Alabama we really enjoyed it. So, in my unconscious little ambitious brain I have decided that William and I should get experience in this sector if we want to one day run a B&B. So, what do I do… I decide to subscribe to The Caretaker Gazette. I read that this was the place to get jobs where you house-sit or care for farms, B&B’s, ranches, or short-term gigs. The subscription was about $30 for the year and let me tell you… it has already been worth it! Not because William and I have landed any Caretaker jobs through the Gazette, but because it opened up my eyes to a whole new field. Who knew that you can move to Canada and manage the households of the wealthy, and make between 90,000 and 125,000 each year?! Those opportunities are not the only kind. There are also options that allow you to have an additional job or source of income and you just live in someone else’s home.
I started looking for opportunities on Craig’s List as well. And… that was fruitful, as I am currently sitting in someone else’s home, in their chair, with their television on in the background to entertain their dog, their two little birds and their giant (almost scary) macaw. Today the macaw discovered paper can be ripped… so all of the newspaper on the floor ready and waiting to catch bird poo is now scattered all over the floor… thanks Abbaco.
House-sitting is a financially beneficial hobby… I will mention more about that later.

Updates on my badges

2011-05-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

It's funny to me that my last update was about Public Speaking, because I've had a few opportunities between now and then and I pretty much don't like it at all. I've also discovered that I don't like to raise money. I'm only 28, so that could change... and it may if I continue down the track I'm on, but as of now I pretty much hate it. The problem with that is everything in my life right now kind of circles around raising money.

I had the 5k this past weekend to support Engage Burkina and Joanna. For a few weeks I was involved in a campaign to fight muscular dystrophy. I'm signed up for Relay for Life which is in a few weeks. We had a silent auction at the church since my last post. And my full time job includes a monthly goal of raising $500. I told a friend the other day that I keep pondering if God is trying to teach me how to raise money right now...

I am hoping that I like to earn money though, as I just bought the small company based out of Laguna Beach. For those of you that don't know about it- William and I went to California and bought a company at the beginning of April. It is a T-shirt company and the t-shirts had been marketed to celebrities. There is even a link to a photograph on our website of Sharon Stone in the shirt. The website is www.iamoriginone.com

We haven't had a chance to do anything with the company over the last month, but that should change in the upcoming months. I put the website on the back of the shirts for Joanna's race, and I wore one of our Origin One shirts out today. We still need to update the website and follow up with some contacts that we were given. At least least half of the profits will be given to a non-profit- right now the plan is for that to be the foster care initiatives at the YMCA.

So, in the upcoming weeks I should be posting on drafting a business plan, and building a web site. I will also likely be starting a newsletter at work. I wanted to do this as an annual thing for my personal life, but just don't have the time- so work will be the way to go.

Public Speaking

2011-02-12T07:35:00.001-08:00

I'm unsure if there is a certain number of people I need to be speaking in front of to earn this badge. I have spoken in front of hundreds, but not thousands. I speak in front of ten to fifty all the time.

I spoke in front of hundreds in my church as a teenager, and I spoke at a Baptist Student Union conference in college in front of hundreds as well. My experience may be all related to spirituality... I led a chapel service in college, I give announcements at church on Sundays.... this one isn't hard for me. I was even interviewed about being a Christian in high school by PBS... which you may still be able to find if you google me. I don't have to be prepared for public speaking. I'm pretty comfortable with it. I would have to be more prepared for giving a speech or speaking at a press conference. Haven't done that yet!

Get Organized Update

2011-02-12T07:25:00.000-08:00

So, in the recipe portion of my get organized chapter I included a few meals from our "Dinner and a Movie" Cookbook. The first one was for Beef Stroganoff and to watch the movie "Stripes". Well that movie is really old and rated R, so I thought today it would be rated PG. Nope, lots of naked.... and also not funny (at least not for the first 20 to 30 minutes) so we turned that off. The meal was mediocre. It looked like it would be really good, but it had too much sour cream. And, since we didn't finish the movie I have no idea why the movie went with Beef Stroganoff... nor do I know how they could have possibly shown that on TBS.

Last night we watched "Harry and the Hendersons" which was still really cute as an adult until I fell asleep about forty minutes in. To accompany the movie we were supposed to make Big Foot Foot Long Hotdogs. Chicken Hotdogs. Well, to make the hotdogs you had to puree the chicken in the blender. This was one that William thought would be fun to make... so I told him that I could not take part in pureed chicken and we needed to schedule this on a workday so that he could make it and the blender would be washed when I got home... pureed chicken is too much for me to see in the same blender where we make smoothies. So, when I got home it smelled wonderful! I was shocked. Unfortunately, I could only take a bite before looking at it and thinking about the pureed chicken... and then we went out to get Mexican. I really tried... but it just grossed me out. So much, that at the mexican restaraunt the enchillada definition included the words "ground meat" and I clarified that the chicken was shredded.

Planning a 5k Part II

2011-02-04T18:40:00.000-08:00

I know these posts are back-to-back, but the 5k posts will span through May. Race day is April 30th, and I still have a lot to do.

When I was tweaking my flyer I realized that I needed to have a P.O. Box where registration forms could be mailed, and you need to tell registrants to whom they should make checks payable. I'm not going to go into too much detail about how William and I made this happen, but if you plan a 5k and you need some help in this area then it may save you some time to just ask me directly. Of course, if you are planning it through our own organization it will be a non-issue.

Moving on.... the aspect of race planning that had me most confounded was awards. You are supposed to have 90 awards!!!! As someone who has only run a couple of really large 5k races for fun I was shocked and thought that people would not really care about the awards. I even asked my contact if we needed to have awards. My experience with awards was limited to watching the Olympics, because I knew that you don't award runners like you award pageant contestants. So, on Saturday morning William and I went to a race in Dawsonville with my sister to trouble-shoot. I'm so glad we went. The race we went to was a first time race as well and some people complained about what happened with the awards. I knew we needed to have 3 awards in each age category for male and female, but as a first time race planner I could have EASILY overlooked that the awards needed to be given for both Male and Female runners which is what happened at that race.

I am also no longer intimidated by the awards ceremony. You basically use a PA system or Karaoke machine (whatever) to announce the winners and everyone claps. Not a big deal at all. No olympic platforms or crownings. Relieved. This race had medals as awards, but we learned that some races have bobbleheads, gift cards, coolers, plates, etched glass, etc. We have a lot of options for awards which makes it a little more exciting. We haven't picked our awards yet, but William is working on a couple of ideas.

More to Come....

Planning a 5k Part I

2011-02-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

When I volunteered to plan a 5k for my friend Joanna to help her raise money for her trip to Engage Burkina I did not realize the intensity of such an endeavor... in fact, I thought I could just throw it together and raise a few thousand dollars without a lot of effort. It has not been a time consuming and overly demanding task... I really have only been in the throes of it for about two weeks... but these last two weeks have made it clear that when a 5k demands attention then to have a succesful 5k I HAVE to devote my attention and energy to it.

I could not have successfully gotten to where I am currently had I not been given Classic Race Services as a contact. So, if you want to plan a succesful 5k... make the right connection!

Step 1- Coordinate with someone who has experience (they can answer your questions, and in this situation he got me on the right websites)

I also had to decide on a location. I went the easy route on this factor. I originally wanted to have the race on Buford Dam Road, but if you plan a 5k and have it on a real road you have a lot more to handle. You have to contact people from the city, work with an EMT, hire poice officers for the day of the race, etc. The "real" road option is also a little more expensive. Our 5k will be in a Park. I went to a park to trouble-shoot on Saturday and the people who planned that race told me that the city was letting them use the park for free! I received a reduced rate urkina's nonprofit status and reserving the park is $53 per hour. I reserved it from noon to five pm and the race is at 2pm.

Step 2- Reserve your location

Just as an additional note I should include that I had to write up a letter explaining what the race was for and when we wanted the park. This is what I included in my letter:

To Whom It May Concern:
Engage Atlanta is a 501c3 and is also doing business as Engage Burkina. Burkina is listed as one of the world's poorest countries and has one of the highest illiteracy rates in the world. One in three children die before the age of ten primarily from malnutrition and water born illness, but also struggle to deal with AIDS, Malaria, and other treatable diseases.

On the ground Engage is partnered with African leaders from The Christian and Missionary Alliance. Engage has also sought out Burkinabe government and civic leaders to ask them how to best serve their country. Engage has partnered with the #1 school in the country to expand the opportunity for education, and is scouting future sites for schools to be built. Engage has also partnered with several sites operated by Compassion International.

Engage sends individuals and teams to the country on a consistent basis. In January 2011 one individual is moving to Burkina Faso. She will be joining a family and will be working with them while in Burkina. She will be home schooling two of their children as well as helping host mission teams to work with the people in Burkina. Mission teams focus on impacting the infrastructure by drilling wells, and building churches and schools in hand-picked communities.

Engage would like to host a race on April 30th, 2011. The money raised from the 5k will support the aforementioned endeavor.

Sincerely,
Leslie Clevenger Brogdon

I also had to send over a copy of Engage Burkina's 501c3 letter and a signed copy of the park's official request.

Step 3- Create a Flyer

I thought a flyer was what you distribute when you plan an event at church... but not according to race standards. For a race your flyer is also your registration. My registration form can be found on: http://engageburkina5k.blogspot.com/

Because I am working with Classic Race Services my registration form is being uploaded online through Active.com and is an official Grand Prix race which means people can earn points for running my race. From everything I hear it is extremely beneficial to be using all three of those services.

More to Come.....

Get Organized Part 2

2011-02-02T18:10:00.000-08:00

In my attempt to organize my life I have also planned Wednesday night youth group for the remainder of the school year... and since we mostly have activities over the summer on Wednesday nights I am basically planned up through August! I'm so excited to have that planned in advance. I found a wonderful book entitled, "$5 Youth Ministry", and it has really great activities and lessons for my kids. Most of them are in middle school, so I like the spiritual level of my options in this book. Here is the overview/title of my upcoming lessons with the reference page attached:

February 2nd- Balloon Stomp, Comic Strip Gospel pg 38, Empty Chair activity pg 48

February 9th- Fortune Cookie thoughts pg 52 Then we are going to do some planning for the Valentine’s Banquet.

February 16th –Look at Me- Learn to Love yourself (pg 96). Mini concert.

Saturday, February 19th- Valentine’s Banquet 6pm

February 23rd - Remember Global needs in prayer and add to prayer wall ( bring newspapers pg 118) Identity Theft (pg 84) Talk about identity theft and our new identity in Christ

March 2nd- My Creed (pg 103) Share creeds with the students, and talk about how and why we incorporated the apostles creed into our Sunday morning worship service

March 9th- No Youth Service (Ash Wednesday Service)

March 16th Psalm- pg 122 Pick One- It’s Optional pg (114 and 174)

March 23rd- Scrapbook a journal. Youth devotional published for congregation (pg 167).

March 30th- Greatest fear pg 50

April 6th- Spring Break (No Wednesday night church)

April 13th - Take the kids to the Lake and talk about theological implications of water (see gather at the river pg 77)

April 20th – Easter people (pg 46) Narrative at the church cemetery. Also great cemetery conversation starters on pg 78.

April 27th- Conduct an Interview (pg 40) and Survivor Basics (pg 134)

May 4th- Spell My Feet Game, Wear Your Shoes Well (pg 156)

May 11th – Worship, Foot Washing Ceremony pg 153

May 18th It’s A Teen Thing- 10 minutes (pg 88) Your Next Step (pg 165)

May 25th- Graduation Banquet/ End of School Year Party (suggestions on pg 75).

Get Organized Part 1

2011-02-01T14:44:00.000-08:00

There are so many areas in which a person can be organized, that this deserves two badge attempts to count as valid. One of my efforts is in meal planning and budgeting. I love good food, and I love a great atmosphere so it is very easy for me to start eating out every night of the week. William is the same, so when we can afford it we hit the road for dinner. However, in an attempt to be more responsible we have taken up meal planning for the month of February. Since we have recently been a bit more conservative with our finances we know that we can spend $30 a week on groceries and eat really well for the entire week; wheras, when we go out to dinner we sometimes spend double that! I have posted the recipes we are planning to try on my recipe blog: http://aficianodooffoodanddrink.blogspot.com

We used recipes we found online in addition to recipes we got out of a "Dinner and a Movie" Cookbook, which we are excited to try. Here is the schedule!

1 Chicken Tortilla Soup
2 Pork Tenderloin w Chutney
3 Dinner Out (Church Night)
4 Fucilli w Kale, Parmesean, and Italian Sausage
5 Plans with Friends
6 Dinner and a Movie- Beef Stroganoff and "Stripes"
7 Beef Stew
8 Zuppa Toscana
9 Meat Loaf
10 Dinner Out (Church Night)
11 Chicken Tetrazini
12 Dinner and a Movie- Big Foot Long Hot Dog and "Big Foot"
13 Chili
14 Valentine's Day (Dinner Out)
15 Stir Fry
16 Dinner Out (Church Night)
17 Artichoke Pasta
18 Gorgonzola and Prune Stuffed Chicken
19 Dinner @ Church Fiesta Iglesia
20 Dinner and a Movie- 007 Martinin Fondue and "Moonaker"
21 Winter Squash Bisque
22 Zucchini-Pepperoni Pizza Fritata
23 Dinner Out (Church Night)
24 Dinner and a Movie- Blues Brothers Funky Chicken and "Blues Brothers"
25 Plans w Friends
26 Pumkin Lasagna
27 Wedding Anniversary (Dinner Out)
28 Italian Spinach Soup

Just let me know if you want to join us one night for dinner!!!!

take the stage

2011-01-28T20:19:00.000-08:00

I may come back to this badge, because the book technically encourages acting; however, taking the stage in a pageant is still taking the stage. I entered Miss GA USA for fun. It wasn't fun. In retrospect it was a fun experience... but while I was doing it I thought it was very odd. What I didn't know was that: it is SOOOO easy to be in the pageant, people have been doing those pageants for at least the last ten years and they continue to do them, girls will move to different states if they think they have a better chance of winning somewhere else because it is kind of like an occupation for them, and when you take the stage as an adult with confidence you look a lot like the other girls but when the teenagers take the stage you can very much tell who has been doing pageants for years and who has not. Here are some pics:

Take the Reins

2011-01-27T20:06:00.000-08:00

I don't think there is anything I enjoy less than horseback riding. It is terrifying. My parents tell me I was terrified as a child, and in my once and only once experience as an adult it was also horrible. I went with a few friends to a horseback riding farm in Waleska/Canton. Terrifyingly awful. Horses are giant and I don't know why people aren't scared of them.

Why is everyone not scared of these horrifying creatures and their giant teeth. They eat apples in one crunch... I'm pretty sure they can also do that with your hand. I pretended not to be scared of horses when I worked at the ranch... but since I don't work there anymore I can let the secret out.

And another secret thing I am scared of is....

Those are bunnies!!!! I think the shock factor plays a role in my fear here but I had always loved bunnies until someone told me they had one and I met a giant gremlin with a resemblance of a face... awful....

Commune with Nature

2011-01-26T19:55:00.000-08:00

I have a favorite camping spot in Helen:
http://www.helenga.org/business/sleepy-hollow-campground

I even have a favorite campsite. I have been a few times. There are always a lot of people there, and the guy who owns the campground lives there in an RV, so he is easy to reach with any problems, questions, or even just to pay him which I have found is a major problem at other campgrounds.

Recently William and I went camping at a state park in AL. I thought it would be fun and similar to our experience at sleepy hollow. The bathrooms and showers were nice, but this state park did not have electrical outlets that worked and we were staying there for several days during the work week. It ended up being unfortunate. We could never find the person to pay... or even to reserve the site initially. We were also attacked my daddy long legs.... literally hundreds of them. I didn't enjoy that at all. Sleepy Hollow is great though... and Helen is so fun. We just planned a trip with the church to go to Sleepy Hollow in August before the youth start school again. Looking forward to it!!!

give a little bit

2011-01-25T19:19:00.000-08:00

Volunteering... this is my favorite thing to do. About two years ago I joined the Junior League of Atlanta. My motivation was structure in my volunteering endeavors. During my time with the Junior League I have had amazing opportunities. For those of you who are interested I am going to write a bit about what it is like to become a member.

William's mom was a member of the JLA and a couple of years ago I was talking about some of my volunteer experiences and a Tour of Kitchens I had helped with through the Jr. League of Woodstock. She offered to sponsor me. I sent her an email about my volunteer (and work) experiences and she emailed a contact at the JLA. They signed me up and I was invited to be a provisional. You don't have to know someone to get in though, (although I would be willing to sponsor anyone who is reading my blog) you can just call the JLA office and tell them you want to join and need a sponsor (I associate sponsorship with a financial commitment, but there isn't one... I think it is just called that).

I started going to meetings at the JLA headquarters... it was pretty consistent for a few months. I think over a four or six month period I had to attend several meetings, work in the JLA thrift shop, attend a bus tour of some of the placements, and pay dues. I think those were my only initial obligations.

After that my provisional year was over. Most of the provisionals were the same age as I was at the time (26) and they were professionals living in or around Atlanta. The girls in my provisional group (8 to 10) girls were into running, one was a vegetarian, and I think two were married. I have not been in a placement with any of those girls since our provisional group.

There is a long list of placement options ranging from the food bank, to Ronald McDonald House, to placements that raise money for the League, new projects, leadership, the JLA newsletter, and the list just goes on and on. So many options, but once you are a first year (what they call the year after your provisional season- and the only year that is numbered) you just spend so many hours in a placements that you have requested and attend a couple of meetings and a three hour fundraising rotation. I think those are the only obligations.

My first placement was on the League initiative committee. I wanted a double placement so I also helped with the Charity Ball. With the LIC I was trained to train mandatory reports in the sexual exploitation of children. I learned that Atlanta was a hub for sexual exploitation, and I was able to attend a Red Carpet event that recognized the problem. On the LIC I was also able to volunteer at the Governor's Mansion to promote Literacy for Children. I assisted with a 5k at Atlantic Station and Iwas able to recruit items for the silent auction at the Charity Ball and I attended with William and his parents, which was a lot of fun!

This year I spent a lot of time in AL, but I didn't want to change my placement so I am working with the Handmade committee. Most of the responsibilities require sewing, but one is to make little cloth hearts for mothers to wear at the hospital when they are visiting their premie, and when mom has to leave she leaves the heart behind and the smell left on the fabric is really beneficial for the baby. Interesting...

I love being a part of the JLA. I keep trying to get my sister to join. She is almost old enough!

Share What You Know

2011-01-22T12:07:00.000-08:00

As most of you know I recently took a job at a church as a youth and children's minister. I lead children's church on Sunday morning and the youth on Wednesday evenings. I am taking the kids through 1st and 2nd Samuel on Sunday mornings. When I first read those books of the Bible I started to really understand what it meant to love God and how it was possible to have a relationship with Him. I found free curriculum online for Sunday mornings and so far the kids are enjoying it.

I am teaching the youth based on different things I am reading. I started a blog for them as well: http://bethlehemumcbuford.blogspot.com/

Dine In

2011-01-21T11:39:00.000-08:00

How could I not earn this badge based on the fact that I was a vegetarian for a year and because I am currently a couponing fiend? I cook most everyday.

Let's talk about me being a vegetarian for a year. I was more sick the year I was a vegetarian than I have ever been... but it was mostly sinus related illness, so it may not be related. Nonetheless, it was interesting. People asked me if I could feel a difference in my body, and I couldn't at all. I thought that maybe once I re-incorporated meat that I would be able to tell a difference and I couldn't. I was thinner as a veg than I am now, but I think part of that was my crazy training for the Miss GA USA pageant. That was some intense training! I really don't think there was a noticeable benefit! I did pick up some great vegetarian recipes. Those recipes, along with some other favorites, can be found on one of my other blogs:
http://aficianodoofoodanddrink.blogspot.com/ The other interesting aspect about being a vegetarian was that it was like a private group that I was suddenly accepted into... other vegetarians were excited to meet me and talk with me about my experiences. It was very similar to the way I would react to another Christian in an unfamiliar setting.

My couponing commitment has come out of necessity, but I really enjoy it. William and I love grocery shopping together... which is REALLY LAME, but it is so much fun. Couponing has kept our kitchen well stocked, and it's easy to try new dishes. Chili is my signature dish, but recently I made peperoni bread for the first time. Yum!

Get Well-Read

2011-01-20T10:50:00.000-08:00

If you have been to my house then you know I am a book lover. In my living room there are three nearly-ceiling-height bookshelves overflowing with color coordinated books. You have probably also heard William and I bickering over the way I have decided to categorize our books. But I love the way the color-coordination makes the bookshelves pop! Upstairs, we have two more bookshelves filled with black books (since downstairs contains the colors of the rainbow and white).

I will list some of my favorites in this post

Bible Studies- Becoming a Woman of Excellence
Biographies- Embarassingly, both Mother Teresa and James Frey come to mind...
Business- Good to Great
Children's Books- The Maze in the Heart of the Castle with The Giver being a close second
Cookbooks- The Joy of Cooking (I would be really limited w/o the explainations in that book)
Crafts & Hobbies- You Can Do It! The Merit Badge Handbook for Grownup Girls
Diet & Health- You: the User's Manual
Fiction- Clan of the Cave Bear
Classic Literature- Wuthering Heights
Foreign Language Instruction- A Primer of Biblical Greek (Fabulous Resource)
Humor- If I'm Waiting on God then What Am I Doing in a Christian Chatroom, or When Perfect Isn't Enough
Libros en español- Like Water for Chocolate (Only parts of it are in Spanish, and the movie is AWFUL)
Mystery & Crime- Mysteries of the Unexplained
Nonfiction- Queen Bees and Wannabees or any book by Deborah Tannen
Religious- Redeeming Love
Science Fiction & Fantasy- Uglies, Pretties, Specials, and Extras

Be a Renaissance Gal

2011-01-19T09:56:00.000-08:00

Art appreciation is pretty much synonymous with marrying William. I've always enjoyed museums. When I was in college I got to see.....

I enjoyed the Louvre. I've always really liked Egyptian artifacts and art, and they have a fabulous collection. The Carlos Museum at Emory is my favorite, and I've been several times. I was adamant about making sure we saw the King Tut exhibit while in Atlanta. Egypt is my number one desired travel destination and I desperately want to visit the Valley of the Kings. But I really enjoy visiting museums to see the traveling exhibits. William and I have a membership at the High, so recently we have seen...

and

William and his family definitely expand my knowledge though. I would not have been able to talk in depth about a Chihuly before marrying into his family. Chihuly's are fabulous... and they are sometimes randomly hanging from the ceiling... in Vegas, at a museum in Birmingham, there is one at the Botanical Gardens in Atlanta too. They are pretty easy to recognize...

In Chicago or Birmingham William and I visited a Museum and I was absolutely mesmerized by this video displayed on the wall... it was several inches of model train track as viewed from the train. A camera was taped to the train as it moved through rooms, across the floors, into little mouse sized holes. The film ran on a continuous loop for several minutes, but it was fascinating to watch the model train go through snow, luxurious apartments, disgusting bathrooms, empty hotel rooms, around the Christmas tree, through a garden, under the stairs, and on, and on, and on... I think we watched three times through.

But I couldnt mention my appreciation for art without mentioning my mother-in-law. She doesn't even know I have a blog, so I'm not just exercising an obligatory "shout-out". I LOVE Julie's work. She has the most inspirational pieces I have ever seen. She has this series of women in cages... and it's a bold collection, but considering my study of sexual exploitation, and interest in feminism, and female interaction it is not surprising that this series is inspirational to me. I can't copy a picture from her website, but this is a link: http://www.juliemccraneybrogdon.com The series can be found under the Gallery Tab and then the Feminine Tab.

go back to school

2011-01-18T08:43:00.000-08:00

Well, I have completed Round 1 of going back to school. I finished my Master's Degree in May. I want to go back to get a Doctorate but I won't be able to do that for a while. I emailed a few schools to determine the possibility of starting a Doctorate program in August, and I will definitely have to do some leveling work before I get accepted. The options are, unfortunately, limited in Georgia. To apply to UGA's program I need to be fluent in two languages, Emory's program definitely stresses work with rats, and I really want to focus primarily on clients, and qualitative research methodologies. The only other currently accredited programs in Georgia are at Georgia State and Argosy. After talking extensively with representatives at Argosy I know that I am not interested in the program. Georgia State is my only option... after the leveling work. My Doctorate program preference is in Chicago, or Colorado. But for right now... I do have my Master's.

I thought it would be appropriate to include an excerpt from one of the papers I wrote. I think it is interesting to learn about the history and traditions of other religions. I included an excerpt from a paper that recounts the history and traditions of the Baptist denomination. This book emphasizes the distinctness of being Baptist. One of my professors wrote the book. This is an excerpt from my summation...

The Baptist Vision is one that focuses primarily upon the teaching of Scripture. This foundation has paved the history of Baptist tradition. The Baptist denomination is different from other denominations and religions in this respect. The Baptist Vision primarily asserts Scripture as authoritative, affirms that each believer is personally accountable to God and has responsibility within the body of believers.
The New Testament Church is studied very diligently by Baptists. There are strong considerations regarding the teachings of the Bible and thus the manner in which the New Testament church engaged in fellowship is important to the Baptist tradition. There is careful consideration given to speaking in tongues, and the title and role of the pastor. The Pentecostal initiation and tradition of speaking in tongues is quite interesting. This tradition quickly spread amongst believers who had a leader with this gift. This may be considered the most predominant charismatic tradition, but Baptists are also charismatic in their allowance for all members in the church to minister. Study of the New Testament Church also signals that the title and role of the lead pastor, bishop, or elder is interchangeable.
Baptists carefully consider the teachings of the Bible and set aside tradition for Scriptural authority when there is a discrepancy between the Baptist tradition and the Biblical text. A theology of cooperation was not initially a component of the Baptist church. There seemed to be some confusion surrounding the methods and initiation of cooperation amongst the early church. However, after examining various passages of Scripture it is clear that the early meetinghouses were encouraged to help each other and minister to one another. Churches assisted each other financially as well, and the Baptist tradition continues to maintain this assistance as long as each church maintains a theology in accordance with The Baptist Faith and Message.
The churches cooperation primarily lends itself to issues regarding missions. The financial support that each church gives to its members is in need of some sort of structure. The allotment of finances between pastor, missions, etc. had been traditionally divided equally. However, the initial need for a more structured designation of the churches finances led to the creation of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The Southern Baptist Convention meets once a year and conducts various business during the annual meeting. The meeting initially lasted for a longer period of time, but now the meeting is two days in which all of the messengers come together to vote and discuss issues such as budgets, ministries, and effectiveness. Prior to the meeting the messengers prepare at their own church for the upcoming issues. There are offices that are elected as part of the SBC and the office of the president holds the most authority primarily because this officer appoints various committees.
The Southern Baptist Convention has a strong network. The network extends to various conventions that are designated by state to various schools and hospitals. Ministries include disaster relief and children’s homes. Churches generally belong to a state convention, a local association and the Southern Baptist Convention.

Bead It

2011-01-17T08:10:00.000-08:00

I love working with wire. It is my favorite medium. I took a 3D Art class in high school and made a really fabulous wire cow. I gave it away as a gift, but it looked like this:

Seriously... it was that good. I LOVE working with wire!!! I am starting to feel inspired to make an owl. Anyway, I have put some SERIOUS time and effort into make some beaded bracelets. I was inspired by some bracelets that William's mom had, and since then she has given me one! These are the ones that I made.

Recently, William's mom generously gave me bags full of Amber from the Baltic Sea. I am excited to make some more jewelry!

Paint a Picture

2011-01-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

This is a regular activity at our house. When Joanna was living here we were excited when she came downstairs to paint.... family paint time! :)

Shottie, Denise, and I earned this badge !

Roam Where You Want To

2011-01-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

I love to travel. Internationally, I've been to Israel, Greece, Playa Del Carmen, Cabo, Cozumel, Peru, St. Thomas, St. Maartin, and France. In the States I have been lived in Oregon, beento Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Lousiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio, live in Kentucky, lived in Indiana, been to Tennessee, lived in Alabama, lived in Georgia, been to Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, New York, and New Jersey. Here are some of my favorite pics!

CABO

PERU

Washington DC

GREECE

NEW YORK

FRANCE

ARKANSAS

COZUMEL

OHIO

Hit the Slopes

2011-01-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

I try to go on a snow sporting trip every year. I am wretched at it... just to be clear, but I still always go. I LOVE snow boarding. I can't make it down the bunny slope without falling, but it still rocks. I have even taken lessons, and people have tried to teach me, but to no avail. After Akron, Ohio I do prefer a ski location that offers snow tubing. You can't really mess up snow tubing. You also can't fall off the ski lift when you snow tube and I generally feel like I am about to with that uber-heavy board weighing me down.

Bust A Move

2011-01-14T04:46:00.000-08:00

As many of you know I consider the Dancing Badge earned based on my year of Salsa lessons with Sunil. I met Sunil thru Craig's List, but we did meet at a Steak n Shake on a crowded afternoon with Kara before I met him alone. At lunch we discovered that he and Kara had worked for the same company, which made it seem a lot less sketchy that I found my salsa partner on Craig's List. For my friends who have not met him... this is Sunil.

For Kara's pre-bachelorett party we also took a class.

This is a fb link to some Greek Dancing at ,my friend, Luci's birthday party a couple of years ago: http://www.facebook.com/leslie.clevenger#!/video/video.php?v=738293671471

Here are a couple of pics from the party

Badge Options

2011-01-13T22:22:00.000-08:00

The Official List of Badges

1) dare to dream
2) bust a move- dancing
3) roam where you want to- travel
4) take the stage- acting
5) extra credit- stand up comedy
6) walk on fire
7) speak up- public speaking
8) champion a cause-activism
9) rock out- starting a rock band
10) be your own boss- drafting a business plan
11) fly solo-aviation
12) sing your heart out- singing
13) paint a picture- painitng
14) be an author- writing
15) extra credit- get published
16) roll 'em- filmmaking
17) take a (really good) picture
18) go world wide- building a website
19) dig this- gardening
20) extra credit- flower arranging
21) redo a room- decorating
22) bead it- beading
23) sew fabulous- sewing
24) extra crdit- quilting
25) get down to the knitty-gritty- knitting
26) get your way- negotiating
27) learn the lingo- speaking a foreign language
28) go back to school- continuing your education
29) play a tune (in tune)- playing an instrument
30) be a renaissance gal (art appreciation)
31) get well-read- book lover
32) dine in- cooking
33) know your best cellars- wine appreciation
34) party on- entertaining
35) exercise your options-fitness
36) stretch yourself- yoga
37) hang ten-surfing
38) head for the hills- climbing
39) jump- skydiving
40) go for the gold- triathalon
41) extra credit- plan a 5k
42) dive right in- scuba diving
43) hit the slopes- snow sports
44) beat the boys at pool- billiards
45) take the reins- horseback riding
46) eat it- nutrition
47) care for your health- healthcare
48) quit it- breaking bad habits
49) look sharp- personal style
50) find your money- budgeting
51) grow your money- saving and investing
52) give your money away- estate planning and philanthropy
53) pop the hood- car care
54) speak geek- computer care
55) make yourself handy- home maintenance
56) organize it- organizing
57) get an inner life- meditation
58) share what you know- teaching
59) commune with nature- camping
60) trace your roots- genealogy
61) connect with your tribe- family rituals
62) play the field- dating
63) make love last- strengthening your relationship
64) give a little bit-volunteering

Make your own badge suggestions:
learn CPR
coach little league
make your own furniture
write a song
understand the federal reserve
breed dogs
become a palm reader
spend quality time with an elder
herd goats like heidi
extra credit- learn to yodel
write a children's book
join a hockey team
ride the trans-siberian railway
start a newsletter
throw a vase on a potter's wheel
call a square dance
go on an african photography safari
invent a board game
be a fiery redhead
start a greeting card company
move to new york city
take a vow of silence for a week
design a pair of shoes
build a tree house
step into a boxing ring
bake an amazing apple pie
pitch a no-hitter
be a foster mom
canoe through the grand canyon
swing on a trapeze
spin records at a dance club
open a bed & breakfast

My First Entry

2009-07-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

So, I got this book recently... It is entitled, "You Can Do It! The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls". I'm pretty inspired by this book. I had seen it @ Ross, and had to go back three weeks later to purchase it. Luckily, it was only about $4. This book is all encompassing. I think it has 60+ crazy and random chapters for activities. I am all about jumping on band-wagons. Since I have a history of trying new things I have already awarded myself a badge or two. I took a year of salsa dancing with someone I met off of Craig's list, so I'm awarding myself the dancing badge for that. I committed myself to go on 3 dates a week from approximately January to June of 2008 and I receive the "playing the field" badge for that. That ended with William and I recommend that badge to all single people. I learned so much! I'm also hoping that I can get badges for being in the Miss GA USA pageant and for being a vegetarian for a year. I need to read a bit more before I can determine if that fits into any of the categories in the book. I'm dedicating this blog to record my merit badge achievements. I am most excited and scared to learn how to walk across coals, I am most committed to writing a book (since I think God has been prompting that for years), and I am least interested in skydiving.