If you read my blog much, you know that I am an avid Kroger shopper. I do my weekly shopping there on Sunday, I buy gift cards for my business at least one weekday each week, I hit the salad bar at least once a week, and they are the first place I head to for the “one off” items I need. I go to Kroger so much that my phone actually told me one day that I had “6 minutes to get to work” and the location that they listed as my employer was Kroger! I even get all of my gas at Kroger using my Kroger Plus Card points.
So I know a lot about the different types of sales that they run and tend to watch for certain ones. From June 2-8th they will be running their “Buy 5 Now and Save $5 Later” event (at least that’s what I call it). During this week you simply need to buy 5 participating items from brands like Pillsbury, Totino’s, Chex Mix, and Yoplait and you will get a coupon for $5 off your next visit. For me this is super easy because we eat Pillsbury breadsticks once a week, Totino’s pizza every Thursday night, and a slew of Yoplait yogurt between the 4 of us.
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I usually try to stay clear of posting much about politics or religion because I believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Especially during the election season when emotions were running so high, I tried to keep my mouth shut despite a lot of things that I wanted to comment on.
But after spending some time on Facebook this morning, I just can’t keep quiet anymore. I am so tired of reading comments and seeing posts that essentially say “If you are liberal, you must not be a Christian” or “The liberals are trying to kill Christianity in our country.” It just isn’t true. Every group from the neighborhood HOA to the Democratic party has bad eggs, but sweeping generalizations like these do nothing but put people more at odds and damage us all.
I Am a Christian
I’ll just put that right out there first. The picture above is of my daughter Cassie’s baptism at the First Presbyterian Church. She’s wearing the same dress that I was baptized in, along with my sister and my older daughter. My husband and I were married in his family’s church with a totally traditional ceremony full of Bible verses. I gave the prayer at my high school baccalaureate. I sometimes wear a cross necklace that my mom gave me from when she was a teenager. I accepted Christ as my Savior in junior high at my church’s summer camp. I’ve never once denied my religion or even paused when anyone asked me if I am a Christian.
Do you see where I am going with this? Is that enough proof? The Bible seems to say so. Even young children know that John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” Further, Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
Moving on.
I am a Liberal
I know it’s a dirty word to many of you. I’m not any more ashamed of it than I am of being a Christian. The two are not mutually exclusive because Liberalism is not a religious concept. It’s a social and economic concept. The dictionary defines it as things like “marked by generosity” and “broad-minded.” When did those become bad things?
While my religion has shaped my faith, my life experience has shaped my liberalism. Yes, I believe in homosexual rights. I didn’t when I was a kid. But as I’ve gotten older and met so many wonderful people and come to understand what the absence of those rights means to them, I’ve grown in my beliefs. No, I do not believe there should be school prayer. And not because I don’t want my own kids to pray. But because I have come to know many families who are NOT Christian whose children would be put in an uncomfortable situation every time it came time for them to have to pray. Is it fair to make a 9-year-old have to explain to their class why they are different than the Christians in the class when even many adult Christians that I know are not tolerant of it?
Being liberal doesn’t mean that I want to convert anyone else. You don’t proselytize your social views. That’s a religious concept. You might speak your mind sometimes or engage in discussions with people to back up your view. I’m not out to steal your Christmas. I promise! I spend Christmas Eve at church singing songs with tears in my eyes and holding a candle. But don’t freak out if I send you a card that says “Happy Holidays” on it. I hope Eric has a Merry Christmas. And I hope Missy has a Happy Hanukkah. And I hope Daniel has a Happy New Year.
Crazy Rants Make All Christians Look Bad
Do you want to know the fastest way to ensure that someone will NEVER become a Christian? Tell them that their whole belief system is wrong and that they are ruining the country with their liberal opinions. I can pretty much guarantee that they will not even give our faith a second look. Continually post on Facebook about how bad “liberals” are and you won’t just lose them from the church but will probably lose them as friends eventually, too.
Want to know how to get them to CONSIDER accepting Jesus? Show them that we are an inclusive group who help the poor and the sick and leave the judging up to the only being who is qualified to do it–GOD. Complain about a specific bill that a Democrat voted for. Petition Obama for his stance on an issue. But don’t generalize that the mere act of being a liberal makes someone a bad person or less of a Christian.
If you’ve made it to the end, it either means you REALLY agree with me or you REALLY do not. Leave a comment telling me why. I truly want to understand why we all can’t just peacefully co-exist and stop trying to make each other feel like bad people. It’s not the legacy I want to leave to my kids. And it is certainly not the legacy that is going to save our country from the problems that it faces.
Hot product alert!
I’ve always loved chopped salads. In fact, my friends often make fun of me when we go out to eat because of how long I spend chopping up my salads. Now with all of the orthodontia in my mouth, I appreciate chopped salads even more.
Did you know Subway has chopped salads now? Basically you can order from any of the meat subs and then choose your toppings. I love them! And I was infatuated watching them chop up the salads with their fancy little bowl and chopper.
So I decided to see if I could find one for home. I found one that was sort of similar (the OXO Good Grips Salad Chopper and Bowl) and mentioned it to my husband. Last weekend as a “congratulations for running the half marathon” gift, he surprised me with it!
Yes, it is pretty much a bowl with a double pizza cutter in it. It’s so obvious that I can’t figure out why no one has come out with them before. But once you use it, you won’t want to live without it. It’s made just right so that you can chop up salads of just about any size. I’ve made them myself using a bag of lettuce and the new Lean Cuisine Salad Additions. I’ve poured in salads I got at the local pizza place or Qdoba. I pretty much chop up every salad I eat in it now.
My family was skeptical until they tried the salad themselves. Even my in-laws admitted that the salad was better chopped than un-chopped. You just get so many more flavors in each bite. I think you can also cut back on the amount of dressing that you use when you chop it up (more healthy!).
If you love chopped salads, you must get one of these. I have done the fork and knife method pretty much every week for years. It doesn’t even compare. Or consider getting one for someone as a gift. If all else fails, it’s a really nice big bowl! You can get the OXO Good Grips Salad Chopper and Bowl for less than $25 at Amazon.
Do you prefer chopped salads? Have you tried the new ones at Subway?
I’ve written before about how much I really like WyzAnt for finding local (or online) tutors. I met with some people from their company a couple of years ago and was very impressed with their system. Although I haven’t hired a tutor from them yet because the need hasn’t arisen in my house, I have spent a lot of time looking through their tutors and searching different cities, subjects, etc.
This month is a great time to look for tutors for either end of the year tests or summer vacation. I make my kids do both math and language arts every summer (against their wishes). I firmly believe that it helps them get a better start on the next school year when they stay fresh. I’m not saying they do homework all day every day. But they do workbooks a few days a week for a couple of hours to that they do not lose everything they learned the year before.
This May in particular is great for looking for a tutor at WyzAnt because they are running a coupon code. You can save $20 when you hire a new tutor through them. Use coupon code SAVE20MAY. I’ve set up a page for Indianapolis Tutoring but you can also just search the entire WyzAnt site by zip code and subject matter to find tutors all across the United States.
Remember: WyzAnt coupon code SAVE20MAY (expires 5/31) to save $20 this month
It’s been awhile since I updated my braces saga and I have to admit it almost all came to a crashing end this weekend.
Two weeks ago I had my bottom braces put on. You can see from the picture how jacked up my bottom teeth look in the front–especially now that the metal is on them. They are a little turned and crooked and one of the reasons that I started this whole process. For all of you who have been telling me that you don’t think that I need braces, now do you see?
Palate Expansion Done
I never updated that my palate expansion is done! Apparently the Rapid Palate Expander did its job (even though I’m an adult) and they got even more expansion than they had hoped for. So now we have room to work with on top to get everything straightened and deal with the overbite. No more overlap in the middle!
Adjusting to the Bottom Braces (and Swallowing Them)
The bad news about my bottom braces is that they have to be metal while the uppers are clear. The uppers do not show nearly as much as the lowers. And they rub in a different way. But the lowers are a little bit smaller. They take getting used to even if you are already used to the uppers.
When they put the bottom braces on, I started immediately getting sores. I tried not to use the wax so that my mouth would toughen up but they hurt so bad after a few days that I gave in. I waxed the offending brackets, started swishing with the Colgate Peroxyl Mouth Sore Rinse (thank you, Mr. Kinman!), and liberally applied Orajel. Within a week, I was getting used to the bottom braces.
Then all of a sudden Saturday night happened. After eating dinner, I felt something weird. My back bracket was missing. Apparently I swallowed it while eating! I had been warned that because the bracket was on a porcelain crown, it might come off. They said if it comes off twice, I would have to have a metal band put around the tooth as an anchor. I expected that it might come off. I didn’t expect that I would eat it.
My Meldown
I kind of lost it. Between the palate expander issues and the pain of all of the other teeth and the sores and now the metal working its way through my digestive tract, I decided enough was enough. I’m tired of talking funny. I’m tired of getting stuff stuck in them. I’m tired of the pain. I wanted them off!!!
Monday morning I called for an orthodontist appointment and they told me they could get me in today. So I went in today prepared to tell them that I couldn’t take it anymore. I only have two back teeth that don’t hurt to chew with, and now I need a band on one of them…and I know how that will hurt. I’m not willing to sacrifice eating altogether.
Dr. Sadler Rocks
Thankfully, my orthodontist works with a lot of adult patients. He understands that we are used to negotiating and need babied a little bit. We worked out a deal where we are just going without the back bracket for a couple of months. My palate expander is coming out the third week of June, and we will then deal with the bottom band at that point. I’m okay with that. Not happy because I still hate the whole process. But I’ll at least make it until June.
Read about my journey from the start.
