I thought I’d put to good use all that influential power I have through my blog (yeah, right!) and make a plug for the Women’s Potluck Brunch this Saturday at Fellowship Bible Church. It’s at 10:00 in the atrium… er, I mean, “Fellowship Central.”

The past two Christmases I’ve had a little brunch in my home for a few friends, and I always wished I could invite everyone I knew, but I (and my house) couldn’t handle more than a few people. Then I thought how much fun it would be if it were church-wide. So I approached the Women’s Ministry leadership about starting up a potluck brunch. It’s simple, low-cost, not much planning involved, and should be fun whether there are few or many. My hope is to make it a quarterly event.

So, girls, bring something to eat and come join the fun. If you like to cook, then cook (I’m making this); if you don’t, then pick up something from the grocery store. I don’t want anyone to feel turned off because they don’t like/don’t have time to cook. By the same token, I know some of you are good decorators, but I’m not… so don’t expect anything fancy when you get there!

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We all went to the Hendrix campus this afternoon so I could practice taking pictures. It was such a beautiful day! I got some cute ones of David and Anna. I don’t know if they’re what the instructor had in mind, but hey, they’re the most important subjects to me! I realized later I was so concerned about framing that I didn’t pay enough attention to lighting. Maybe next time.

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I’m taking the Community Education photography class at UCA this fall. I’ve only had one session, and I really liked it. I think I’m going to really enjoy this class. But that’s not what this story is about.

I paid my tuition ahead of time, and also noted that there was a “materials fee” that would be paid separately. When I got to class, I discovered that the “materials fee” was for a brand new book, not mentioned in the registration information for the class, that they were having everyone buy for $24 from the UCA bookstore. (Which, even including tax, is above the cover price. They round up to the nearest dollar for your convenience. How sweet!) About two minutes later, I was regretting my purchase (although at the time it seemed like I didn’t really have a choice), knowing that there was surely better price, and possibly even a used book, available on the internet.

When I got home I checked Amazon, and surely enough, the brand new ones were $14.96, and they had lots of used ones starting at $3.99 (plus shipping). I was mad! Not only was it a waste of my money, but it seemed very wasteful of resources for me to consume a brand new book when I could re-use someone else’s. I really thought that they should have announced the book ahead of time, giving students the opportunity to find a used one if they so chose. The only problem with ordering a used one at this point was that I would need the book immediately to read the assignment for next week’s class, but fortunately I was able to borrow Casie’s until mine comes in. So I ordered a used one—easy—and returned the new one to the UCA bookstore—not so easy.

For starters, not having been a UCA student myself, I had to find the bookstore. Nowhere on the UCA bookstore website does it say where the bookstore is, so I called the main line to find out, then I studied the online campus map to try to figure out where the building was. So I headed over there after doing a couple of other errands, then drove around campus for 15 minutes looking for a parking place with my nap-deprived baby who happened to fall asleep right as we parked, causing me to unload the monster stroller that holds the carseat in hopes that she would stay asleep rather than just carrying her in the Snugli like I’d planned. (She woke up anyway.) It was right at lunch time, and there I was, a 32-year-old mom dressed in khaki shorts and a polo shirt pushing a baby stroller through the crowds of 20-year-old college students, feeling a bit out of place. As I whiffed the cigarette smoke, I was reminded of my Hendrix days: “Save the environment! Stop pollution!… cough… gasp… hey, have you got a light?” Once inside the bookstore, the return itself was tricky because of the way the Community Ed. people had done the sales, so it took 3 people to do it. One guy seemed a little annoyed at first, but in the end they were all very gracious and friendly. I expressed my appreciation and went on my way.

I’m satisfied that I did the right thing, and I guess sometimes reducing waste just takes an hour of your time. I wonder how much gas I burned up driving around UCA looking for a parking place? Well, let’s not think about that. :-)

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It’s time for an update on Sasha. She had the third of her four cancer treatments today, and so far she’s doing really well. It’s not a shot; rather, it’s administered with some device that uses a burst of air to shoot the medicine through her skin. There aren’t any side effects, but the second one somehow burst a capillary in her leg and caused it to be very sore (she didn’t even want to walk on it), but a steroid shot took care of that. The vet says her lymph nodes are still down, which is very good. Sasha is only the fourth dog at the clinic (and I think in the state) to have this treatment, and she is by far the case that was caught the earliest, so they are very optimistic and excited for her to be receiving this treatment. Here she is with Dr. Sonya Lavergne at Hillcrest Animal Hospital:

Get well, Sasha!

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Good golly, we’re getting the whole hurricane! We often get some rain slung this direction from these tropical storms, but this time it looks like the whole thing is channeling itself right through the state. Just how much rain is in that thing?! We’ve got a lake in the backyard, but that’s not so bad I guess… Anna W. just wrote that they’re sandbagging their house, and I know there is a lot of other flooding around the state.

My Anna slept in until 9:00 this morning! It’s definitely a sleep-in day. I’m glad she’s learning such things.

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During my online search about reusable shopping bags, I came across this quote:

You don’t have to do everything, but you should do something.

And they’re right. If you look at articles telling you how to live in such a way as to save the planet, it can be overwhelming. Some things may be downright impossible for your lifestyle or location. But everyone should do at least one thing that’s environmentally responsible.

For instance, even though I don’t use cloth diapers, take public transportation (because it doesn’t exist here!) or have solar panels on my roof, I do recycle whatever I can, use reusable shopping bags, use florescent light bulbs instead of incandescent ones where possible, and I’ve joined FreeCycle. I think my next goal is to reduce my paper towel usage; I use them a lot for cleaning when I don’t have to.

So if you’re not doing anything, do something. And if you’re already doing something, see if you can do something else. It’s baby steps. If you just focus on one thing until it becomes a habit, it’s not overwhelming.

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Anna and cousin Addie checkin’ each other out:

Oops, this one’s upside down… wait, no it isn’t:

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I’ve been seeing those reusable grocery bags for sale in Wal-Mart and other stores. I thought, “What a good idea… I hope it takes off… I’ll start using those once I see other people doing it.”

What am I, thirteen?!? I’ll do it as long as I’m not the only one? Geez.

So I’m going to get some. Do any of you have experience with these? If so, have you had any problems using them? Are they sturdy? Are they washable? (I’m thinking raw chicken juice, squished grapes, etc.) If I buy Wal-Mart ones, they have to tag them at the door when I come in every time, so I think I might buy some online, even though they cost a little more.

Any input is welcome here.

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Well, we made it to Mobile and back without incident, in between storms Fay and Gustav. We spent the night in Vicksburg on the way there and back, because there was no way we could do the whole trip in one day with a baby. After a few hours, Anna gets enough of that car seat!

Anna got to meet her great-grandparents—David’s mom’s parents and his dad’s mother—as well as a couple of aunts and an uncle. They were very happy to finally see her! She didn’t quite get in all the nap time she’s accustomed to, which made her a little clingy, but she was still pretty happy and gave everyone lots of those great Anna smiles. David’s blog has a couple of cute videos of them having fun together after a day of visiting.

On the return trip we got to stay in a B&B instead of a hotel. It was a little cabin on a plantation just outside of Vicksburg. If you find yourself needing to spend the night in Vicksburg for any reason, I recommend it. Beautiful setting, good-sized cabin, tasty hot breakfast. The only thing I didn’t like was the dead animal heads hanging on the walls, but that’s a matter of personal taste I guess.

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Anna is 5 months old today! I didn’t have a lot of time to take good pictures, because we’re heading out of town. We’re going to Mobile, Alabama to show Anna off to David’s grandparents and aunts and uncles. If you’ve been watching the weather lately, you’ll notice that there’s a bit of rain down around that area. Yep, it looks like we’re heading right into Tropical Storm Fay. Anyway, here she is pre-trip:

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