chew it up

I went to visit my friend Charlie at Caribou.

And I learned that my gum can also be socially responsible, via Project 7.

wyatt wants jesus

Please read my cousin and his wife's blog post.

The first part makes me want to travel to Ethiopia and get things in line, immediately.

The second part? I was in my room alone when I read it, laughing out loud for about a minute.  An endearing, and very funny story.

zac brown band concert

I went to a Zac Brown Band concert with friends, and family.  

Above is the attachment I sent out with my email asking people to come with me.

The little town of Rockton was overwhelmed with people so the organization of the event was not so organized, and I noticed that the garbage cans were already full as we walked to the area separated out for the concert by a snow fence.  It was all part of the fun and unbelievability that Zac Brown Band was in Rockton.

I was a little disappointed to learn (from Ally) that a lot of his songs are covers.  I still love the songs, but I thought he created all of them.

The concert was a lot of fun as was the cookout beforehand with my parents, Kyle and his friend, and my grandparents. 

Some of my favorite foods, some of my favorite people, and one of my favorite bands.

pictures!

a side

I've been on a deals and social responsibility kick.

So, as a break, please enjoy this picture of me, Jessie, and Michele on a mission trip in Indiana during our high school years.  

riding

Maybe I'll have enough patience to check out some of these options for a bike. No promises.  And I did just make an offer on Craigslist...

The Recyclery

Ciclo Urbano

Working Bikes

up next... antique stores

I am so impatient that I have to tell you my blog ideas before I have even taken the picture of my AMAZING find at an antique store.

I've figured out that my problem is that I feel just as guilty leaving a good deal behind, as I do spending my money on the good deal.

Which means I might as well HAVE it and feel guilty about it, right?

also, fair trade

Buying fair trade stuff is also fun, unique, and helpful.

So here are pictures of a necklace and earring set I bought at Work of Our Hands in Pella. I think they get some of their stuff from Ten Thousand Villages.

(I was stopped at a stop sign when I took the picture. Not sure why I thought I had to take it VERY shortly after the idea occurred to me in the first place...)

platos

My new thing is Plato's Closet.

The resale shop keeps me from directly supporting what seems to be most likely slave labor.

I'd say that it also saves me money but.... I've been there too many times this month to say that with complete confidence  The clothes are cheaper, anyway.

So here are the pictures of my purchases from today. 

 

Starbucks has a new mini card.  I think it might fit right into the pocket of my new shoes. (Normally around $60.  Mine were $14.)

My next step could be this.  The clothes use organic and fair trade materials, and pay fair prices for their assembly.  Thus, the clothes are more expensive than I tend to buy.  Also, the clothes are trendy but not my style. Hopefully more sites like this pop up... and take over the clothing industry.

Toms.  I'll make it my goal to get some before the summer is over.  They donate a pair for every pair you buy.  They also pay fair prices for assembling the shoe.  Make sure to visit this page.

card games

The family that I babysit for has a new card game.  The middle child picked it out the other day, even though I wanted to play There's a Moose in your House.

The game is called Fowl Play.  I realized that the middle child was lying to me about reading the directions when he started to tell me that the rat popped the chicken's balloons.  He had determined that the wolf was a rat from the pictures, but I (being the smart detective that I am) realized that he didn't read the directions since the culprit of the game was more likely a wolf (since most of the cards were chickens) and not a rat.

Anyway, for the most part it is your own fault if you lose.  You get to pick chickens until you say "stop."  If you pick up a wolf card before you say stop you don't get any points that round.  If you say stop before you get a wolf card- you get points for however many chickens you had.

Don't be greedy.

job

The Job that had everything taken away. Not the job that gives you money.

I looked at this because Andrew blogged about it.  Now I kind of want to set it as my alarm in the morning.  That scripture is amazing.

cubs vs brewers

Lydia and I went to the game on Sunday.

It started with three outs right away from Cubs defense. Then two runs for Cubs offense when Lee hit it in the stands.

We had fun chatting with our neighbors and our hotdog vendors.  We also had fun cheering for the Cubs and celebrating their win with the crowd.

It was a very wonderful day.  You can see some of the pictures here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And........ I'll connect to Lydia's once she has hers up.

the fourth of july

4:30a-12p: Worked at Starbucks.

12p-1p: Showered and talked to the Mr. and Mrs.  and Lydia Braun (I like them).

1p-2p: Helped my friend move to Arlington Heights!

2p-5:30p: Nap.

5:30p-6:30p: Woke up. Ate. Watched ballroom dancing competition on TV.

7p-10:30p: Worked at Starbucks.

10:30p-11p: Looked up how to become a sister/nun. 

What?

cubs shirt

On Sunday I get to go to a Cubs game with Lydia.

You can not imagine my excitement.

We've already decided not to do the normal Krista cheap thing by packing pb and j's and our own water.  It will be a day of splurging.  Hotdogs. Peanuts. Crackerjacks. Who knows. And maybe our own water- so that we can spend more on (ah-hem) other drinks.

My only dilemma is what to wear. In the excitement I bought a new Cubs shirt, but I already have one (see above- a white jersey with blue sleeves).  The new one is a jersey style pink t-shirt.

I thought about doing a poll.  The trouble is, I'll end up making my own decision.  But I'll make a poll just for fun, I guess.  Just don't be angry if I don't go by it :).

If you click on the link, please note that the pink is pastel and not bright.  I don't know what the deal is with the picture but it makes the shirt look hideous.