On the fence

On the fence, originally uploaded by hannah8ball.
One of the things I will miss dearly about living on the edge of the city - being able to walk to pasture and uncivilized land. We'll enjoy it while we can. 

Found: Hair rules

From time to time, I venture back to check in on the highschool that I graduated from and I find beauties like this one hidden in their website.

This lovely depiction of what is acceptable (note the happy face) vs. unacceptable (poor depressed youngling plagued by his modern haircut) was followed by this delightful bit of copy:

Male contestants must have standard, conservative haircuts. The hair is to be tapered and off the collar. It is to be above the ears, with sideburns no longer than the middle of the ear. Please refrain from modern hairstyles (emphasis mine).  Male sponsors and guests may wear neatly-trimmed facial hair.

Those who require a haircut will not be permitted to register until they have located a barber and complied with the directive of Master Control.

Surprisingly, as this is your typical right of conservative Christian organization, the stipulations for the female appearance aren't nearly as explicit.  Just that you may be asked to kneel to ensure your dress or skirt is long enough.  And don't even think about wearing pants.  And you better be wearing hosiery.  But no helpful pictures - sadness.

I think I go back (virtually) to be grateful that I'm no longer in that community and to be amazed that this organization is still around.  I can only hope that at some point the children who are being indoctrinated to this way of life get a chance to meet someone who can show them that this faith that we share is more about love than judgment - both toward ourselves and others.

I love this girl!

Greeting a friend, originally uploaded by hannah8ball.

Time to retire the shoes

Time to retire the shoes, originally uploaded by hannah8ball.

These shoes were well loved.

Have I mentioned how much I love baking?

Have I mentioned how much I love baking?, originally uploaded by hannah8ball.

I do. And these little muffins are delicious. Raisins + honey + raw sugar on the crust = more please!

And did I mention these were made with whole wheat flour?  De-licious!

If you've been living under a rock all this time and haven't heard of Artisan Breads in Five Minutes a Day (and their second child Healthy Breads - from which this particular recipe comes), take a moment, go check out their blog.  Then get thee to a bookstore, so your home can become a bakery.  You will not regret it.

Snow Covered

Snow Covered, originally uploaded by hannah8ball.

I love the way snow naturally desaturates everything. It does all the hard work for me.

On sleep

Some of you may know that my husband (who now blogs) and I work at the same company.  Which definitely has it's perks.  One of the non-perks is that the office is 52 miles one way from our house.  And the traffic is terrible.  So, we get up at 5AM to get into work by 7.  Fortunately, I get to work from home 4 days a week, so when my husband wakes up at that horribly early hour, I don't even hear his alarm.  I just snuggle down for a few more hours of restful sleep. 

However, as I've been pondering what I should give up for Lent this year, it occurred to me that perhaps I should give up my sleeping in.  My darling husband drags himself out of bed most days of the week, and manages to come home after a long day at work, make me dinner, and play with our daughter.  So, I'll be giving up sleeping in order to live in solidarity with my husband during Lent. 

And since I'll have an extra 2 hours in my day that is normally spent dreaming, I plan on taking that time to finally start exercising, which has been on my list of things I want to do for a few years now and which I think I'll need to do first thing to ensure I don't just crash on the couch after he heads to work,  and to spend time reading and/or meditating, none of which I really have much time for in my current day.

So.  The rules. (Rules are very important as once they are written down I can't change them or pretend I had different rules).

1. The Lenten fast will begin Weds, Feb 17. and will extend until Good Friday, at which time I reserve the right to continue the habits that I've hopefully acquired.
2. I will get up when my husband gets up - for the purposes of going to work.  
1. If husband is getting up early to take care of our daughter, this does not apply (the sleep-in day rules apply here)
2. If we are on vacation, then the rules do not apply.
3. I will spend at least the first 30-45 mins of my waking day engaged in some sort of physical activity
4. The second hour of my extra time will be spent doing some quiet activity that does not involve my computer, tv or iphone.  I may listen to a meditative podcast if I choose - but no politics.

So what are you giving up for Lent?