Why Shop Local?

We've all heard about shopping local. We've been told it's important to buy from local vendors. But why is it so important to buy local products? Does it really make a difference?

Eating locally may mean spending a little more. It's no big secret that local, organic foods are more expensive than what you find at Walmart. It's also not as pretty. Commercial edamame (soy beans) are smooth, but edamame from your local farmers market are fuzzy. Local apples have spots and home-grown eggplant has nicks. But despite it's higher price and less-than-perfect produce, shopping local is a much better choice.

Let me introduce you to a friend of mine who is a strong believer in supporting local businesses and growth. This is my friend and co-worker, Mary.

Mary owns and works her farm, Menagerie Farm, where she raises chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, goats and horses. Here's a photo of Mary on her tractor, which she affectionately calls Mary Jane.

I Get To

Last night we were at a wild game dinner and the speaker challenged us to say "I get to" instead of "I have to." This is a foreign concept to Americans since we generally think it terms of "have to."

But just think how much changes when we change the way we say things. Take for example these "have to's"

• I have to be married to the same person for the rest of my life
• I have to feed the cats every morning
• I have to go to work every day
• I have to load the dishwasher
• I have to vacuum the floor.
• I have to go to practice early every Sunday morning
• I have to go work with youth tonight even though I'm tired.

Now lets look at these as "I get to's"

• I get to be married to my best friend for the rest of my life
• I get to make my cats happy by feeding them every morning
• I have a job so I get to go to work every day.
• I have great dishes and a dishwasher that I get to load and it washes my dishes for me
• I have a Dyson that the Lord gave me and I get to use it. It does a great job of vacuuming so I don't have to use that old nasty sucking machine.
• I get to lead worship in two services every week.
• I get to hang out with the coolest group of teens I know who love me even though I'm totally lame.

We are blessed beyond measure, but we don't usually realize it. Try today to say "I get to" instead of "I have to" all day and see how it changes your perspective and your attitude. Let me know how it changed your day.


"Today I have a great job that I get to go to and I got to see the beautiful sun rise this morning."

Personality type compatability

I LOVED this article. Anyone who knows Reeve and I know this is us - dead-on. Reeve is the ENTJ and I am the INFJ

I copied and pasted this from here.

INFJ + ENTJ compatibility, relationships

Even though it’s not an absolutely ideal matchup, the ENTJ – INFJ mix has a lot of potential. INFJ personality types are usually a bit more rational and logical than other feeling types (especially SF types) and that is a quality ENTJs are sure to admire. However, INFJs are also quite sensitive to criticism and conflict, which the ENTJ sees as a normal part of life, so obviously some adjustments will have to be made in order for this relationship to work.

As friends...

ENTJ – INFJ friendships usually function well. INFJs generally admire the ENTJs straightforwardness, intelligence and responsibility. In the relationship the INFJ takes on a role of an advisor for the ENTJ, providing thoughtful counsel when it’s needed. One possible stumbling block though is that ENTJs will not always be open to being influenced by the INFJ because they generally try to minimize the effect of emotions on their decision making process. Nonetheless, if the ENTJ learns to bite the tongue and avoid unnecessary arguments and conflict, this commitment can develop into a lifelong friendship that can expose both these types to a truly different perspective on life.

7 in 11

Today I heard on the radio that you should make a list of seven things you'd like to do this year. Generally I ignore advice I hear on the radio as I find it to be unsound and sometimes downright ridiculous.

So I sat down and wrote out a list of seven things I would like to do this year. I found it to be much more difficult than I thought it would. I tried to mix up simple, inexpensive activities and more expensive, more time-consuming activities.

Without furthur ado, my list of seven things to do in (what remains of) 2011 (each item will be crossed off as I complete them):

1. Visit Ross O'Conner in Washington D.C.
2. Fly a kite
3. Go on a hayride
4. Pick Gala apples in an orchard
5. Go to a farmers market and buy edamame
6. Build a snowman
7. Buy my mother-in-law the Christmas present I've been thinking about getting her all year.

I could probably list more, but the year is almost over, so I'll focus on this list and save the rest for 2012.

What's your 7 in 11?

DIY U: Iphone Backplate Replacement

Reeve and I are iPhone people It's true, once you go iPhone you can't go back. They are by far the best phones we've ever owned.  Reeve just got an iPhone 4 after owning his 3GS for two years. I've had my iPhone 4 for a year and I still love it. I won't lie and say it's as marvelous as the day I got it. It's buttons are a little less responsive than they were at first and the oleophobic coating has worn away so it picks up grease a little more, but all-in-all it's still in excellent condition.
The only major fault I can find with the iPhone 4 is the flat back. Seems innocent enough until you realize that the curved back of the old iPhones kept their camera lenses clean and scratch-free. I started noticing a few months ago that my phone's camera wasn't taking good pictures like it used it. They were less sharp and had fuzzy white edges. I soon realized that it wasn't the camera - it was the backplate. The plastic that covered the camera was scratched terribly, which was causing all the photos to be blurry. So my first thought was "Well, I'm out of luck. They won't replace it for a scratched camera." Then I started Googling.

Turns out that while the old iPhones opened by lifting the screen out of the housing, the iphone 4 opens by popping the back off and that replacing the backplate was a quick, easy and affordable fix. I ordered a new back cover from Amazon ($6.75 including shipping.) It even came with all the tools I needed!
When it came in I just popped the old one off and the new one on! Now it takes beautiful photos again! Here are my simple, step-by-step instructions on how to replace your backplate.

Terrific Tuesday: The Alternative Jewely Shop

There's a little place in Nicholasville, KY called The Alternative Jewelry Shop. It's owned by Danny and Libby Barnes and they make custom jewelry pieces. They set my diamond for me and we plan on using them to make custom rings for us as soon as we can afford to.

They use wax molds to create their custom jewelry. First they help you come up with a design that suits you, then they make a wax mold, and then they cast the metal, fill with your stones and give you the final product.

Let's take a look at the story of a ring from the wax mold to the finished product. I took some photos off their website of my favorite piece. This has to be the prettiest ring I've ever seen in my life!

This is a photo of a 1.6 carat antique cushion cut diamond in the wax mold. Isn't it gorgeous?

We love you Nick Pitera!!!