Two weeks ago today we were blessed with these identical beauties.

Catherine Elizabeth (left) and Caroline Grace (left) – two five pound masterpieces.

Truly, I can’t understand how anyone can look at these perfect miracles and not believe there is an Infinite Creator.  Something this incredible couldn’t have come from a pile of goop.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1. I love middle school. Seriously – middle school is my jam.  It is so perfect for me.  I don’t think I’ve ever been happier at work. Yes, there is drama. Yes, I stay busy.  But, I don’t feel my blood pressure rising throughout the day. The tension headache that had become commonplace by 2pm hasn’t happened in the last two weeks.  I leave work feeling content and energized, not beat up and frustrated.  I’m sure this is still a honeymoon phase of sorts, and I don’t have it all figured out, but this job change was most definitely the right choice for me.
2. My dog is neurotic.  I refinished my bedroom furniture this summer.  Because I rent a mostly furnished home, all my bedroom stuff is in the guest room.  Once I finished setting up the room I decided I wanted to sleep there instead, so I moved out of the master.  Apparently I should have asked Finn first, because moving from a king bed to a full has very much upset him.  So how does he solve this problem? Well, most nights he gets in bed with me in the new room but as soon as he thinks I am asleep, he hops off the bed and I hear him prance down the hallway and jump up on the kind bed.  He stays there, gloriously stretched out, until my alarm goes off in the morning. Then he slithers back to me, curls up in my arms, and acts as he’d been there all night. Hilarious.
3. There is such a thing as too many tomatoes.  I never thought I would say it.  Tomatoes – especially home grown ones – are one of my favorite foods.  But with the production of my little garden and the contributions from my crop share, I simply cannot bear the sight of them anymore.  I’m sure the feeling will pass quickly.
4. My HOA is stupid….and I’m thankful to be renting.  I do love the townhouse I’m renting…so much so that I’ve entertained the thought of buying in the neighborhood.  Not true anymore. The HOA doesn’t notify anyone in advance of any work done on their property, does not allow people to lock their own crawlspaces, and allows contractors to use electricity and water from any house without prior authorization and notification.  It’s a lot of fun to come home from work and see a busted lock and a hose that isn’t yours taking water down the street.  Sure, I’d love to pay for the water to take care of a communal lawn.  Not a contract I’d ever agree to sign.  For the love.
5. Everything I know is wrong.  My worldview is just being rocked lately, especially when it comes to racial issues in the United States.  The more I learn, I feel like the less I understand.  I’m trying.  Eventually I may start writing about it.  For now, I *just* pray.
6. My aunts love me something fierce.  It’s September 1, and this month I will get to meet my twin nieces, who are expected to make their arrival sometime in the next three weeks.  From the moment I learned about their existence on March 7, I have loved them (well, back then I guess I only loved one of them).  I have woken up at night and prayed for them.  Then, on June 3, I found out that this theoretical baby was actually two beautiful girls. And then I REALLY LOVED them.  I am obsessed with these babies.  I would give them a kidney right now.  Family is so precious, and I am now blessed with the opportunity to love two more family members.  I am going to know them and love them the rest of my life.  It’s so obvious but such an amazing gift.  And I can’t wait to tell them about Jesus. And then I think about my own aunts and I wonder, is this how they thought of me? Wow. I should strive to be a better niece.
7. The opposite of shame….I guess like #5, I’m still learning this one. It first struck me while listen to Annie Downs’ podcast with Emily Freeman.  The two of them discussed shame and its opposite.  Annie said that for her, the opposite of shame was family.  At first, it didn’t make sense to me at all.  It’s stayed with me for a couple weeks.  What is the opposite of shame? It’s got to have an opposite, right?  Esteem, honor, respect.  What is it? Annie says family.  That’s beautiful.  I’m still not sure what the opposite of shame is for me.  A few days after hearing that, I read Acts 10 in which Peter has a vision from the Lord.  “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” Other versions say not to call it “common” or “unholy”.  In Christ, there is no room for shame anymore.  I am free.  I am clean; holy; dear loved.  I am not impure, unclean, common or unholy.  I am honored and I belong at the table because He says so.  Maybe Annie’s right.  The opposite of shame is belonging.  

And that’s all I got. This was fun!  What have you learned?

I’d like to apologize to me 1.5 readers for my blogging silence….just when I’d been getting better.

My trip to the beach, as fantastic as it was, threw me off.  It shouldn’t have, I know.  The hardest thing was my CSA batches got overwhelming since I had an extra week and I couldn’t keep up with the cooking.  I will start again next week.  In the meantime, here are some snapshots of what’s been showing up.

These are some of the most recent vegetables.  The snap peas are delicious and I love garlic scapes (now that I know what they are).  The purple kohlrabi is the next thing I will try.

My own garden has also been growing nicely.  I planted four tomato plants, zucchini, spaghetti squash, banana peppers, bell peppers, strawberries, basil, dill, oregano, cilantro, and thyme.  I think next year I will need to replace the soil as it quickly becomes depleted in the box.

My brother graduated from medical school in May.  We went straight from graduation to the beach for a week.

I attended my first ever Wine and Paint Night event last week with my friend Deb.  We had a blast! While I know I’m not the best artist, I am pleased with my first attempt at something other than stenciling.

And now for the big news.

Another fun week with the CSA!

This year I bought a produce and egg share from the Rockbridge Farmer’s Alliance, which is comprised of several area farms.  The thirty week season began last Thursday, and I thought it would be fun to document each share and how I eat it each week.  I will spare you from the salads, but will take a picture or two each week and document the new vegetables and recipes I try as a result.

What excited me most about the CSA share was the opportunity to try new vegetables and the first bag definitely did not disappoint.

Here you see:
Beets
Carrots
Radishes
Jerusalem Artichokes (also called Sunchokes)
Lettuce
Kale
Parsley
Scallions
One dozen farm fresh eggs

On Saturday, I dove right in and tried to new (to me) foods: beets and sunchokes.  I roasted the beets, carrots, and sunchokes with some fresh thyme (from Kroger) and garlic.  The verdict?  Honestly, the beets don’t have much flavor, but they also taste somewhat….earthy.  I really liked the sunchokes and hope that future shares include them again.

I browned a pound of ground turkey with garlic and onion, then mixed in about a cup of marinara sauce that I had on hand.  Meanwhile, I boiled 16oz of brown rice and quinoa fusilli (I’m not going GF, just avoiding white flour).  After draining the pasta, I put it back in the stockpot and immediately poured in the hot meat and my washed and chopped bunch of kale.  Once the kale had wilted, I put half the mixture into a casserole dish and added a half cup of mozzarella cheese, then added the rest of the noodles and topped with more cheese.  I baked it at 350 for about 25 minutes.  I’m quite pleased.

And the EGGS!  I always silently mocked (pun intended) those who waxed poetic on farm fresh eggs, but wow! Such a difference.  Below is my breakfast from this morning.