Lights are on...

..candy is in hand, but where are the kiddies??
As I was driving home from the craft fair this afternoon, looking forward to a much needed nap, I started to feel a little tinge of guilt about leaving all of the lights off in the house and hiding inside while the kids go from door-to-door trick-or-treating. It's a day of a community, when neighbors actually get to meet one another and come over, if for no other reason, than for free candy! So, I decided my nap could wait, and I went and bought an 8-pack of Twix candybars. We've never been home before on Halloween, so I wasn't sure what the turn out would be and if I'd need a lot or a little...and I knew I didn't want to house a ton of leftover candy, so my little 8-pack is keeping the guilt at bay. So far, I haven't had a single costumed kid to oohh and ahhh over.

Craft Boutique!

A friend of mine is hosting a craft boutique at her house this weekend, and I am one of the "vendors" selling my crafts (mainly sandwich/snack bags and coasters). Tonight was the first night (it's also tomorrow and Sunday), and it was a fun evening. Several friends and family members came, so it became more about socializing, and a little less about "making sales" which I like since I'm not much of a sales person...although, sales were good too...I think that comes hand in hand with having friends and family members there perhaps. I'm going to spend a little bit of time tonight making a few more things. If you live in Tucson and would like to come, just give me a call and I'll give you the address. :)

WARNING: strong opinions may follow

I'm a little confused as of late.
I thought one of America's slogans was "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness".
Why is it then that I don't feel like I have the right to any of those three things when I am denied affordable health care time and time again?
I am denied because I'm of 'child-bearing age'.
Or, even harder off, because I'm pregnant now.
Somehow that makes me feel like I do not have the right to life.
I'm not allowed life with health care while between the ages of 18 and 35.
I'm not allowed to procreate and bring forth new life.
I'm not allowed to live as healthy of a life as I possibly can.
And, what liberty is there in stressing over whether or not to go to the doctor because I'm not sure I will be able to afford it?
Not getting the meds we need because we definitely can't afford them?
Not having the freedom to take care of myself and my family?
Perhaps one may reply that I should then get a "real job" as so many like to phrase it.
Do you even know how hard we work?
How many hours a day I put in on the road and off the road?
And does that even matter, I was told I had the "pursuit of happiness". Can't we pursue our dreams, where we feel God has directed us?
Or, does it really all have to come at a cost? A cost that is literally so high I don't think we can afford it. We can't afford it financially, but moreso, we can't afford it because we know that God has more for us.

Now, many of you may be thinking, "I thought you had health insurance?"
We do.
Up until recently, I was paying for $431/month for just ME to have health insurance. Why so high? Because I'm of "child-bearing age". But, its not like we could have kids once we started our insurance plan with them, no, we had to have a "6 month waiting period before conception" first to make sure that we had put enough money into their company to cover the costs of having the baby. Why not just get a savings account instead? Well, what if we go in a car accident, or diagnosed with something serious? I don't think our "baby fund" would have been able to cover the costs of those things. But, now I'm starting to wonder if the insurance company would have covered it anyway. In the past 2 months, I've received over $1000 (after my insurance company denied them) in lab bills from my pregnancy, I have yet to receive any of my ultra sound bills.
Fortunately however, I was able to get insurance through a state-run program called AHCCS recently, and all of those bills I've been able to re-direct and have covered 100%. I don't think I've had this good of health insurance since I was under my parents' plan in high school. I feel like I can go to the doctor, get the "recommended" lab work for pregnancy, take prenatal vitamins, etc. My plan is for pregnant women, and will come to an end two months after the babe is born, but the baby will be covered for the first year of life. After my two months, and the baby's year, or search for health care we can afford will resume once again.
I'm just one person, with one story...there are 47 million others living all around us struggling to get health care they can afford.

Week 18!

It's hard to believe I'm almost to the "1/2 way" point of this pregnancy! Even though it's been hard at times (morning sickness, liver acting up, migraines, etc)...I'm loving it. It's just so amazing to learn how the human body works and actually can create new life! I'm constantly amazed at how one day I'll tell Ryan, "I think I have allergies", and the next day we'll read online that during this week of pregnancy I will likely experience a lot of stuffiness due to increased mucus in the body, etc. I feel like that has happened numerous times in regards to various things, however "my pregnancy brain" is causing me to forget all other examples right now. I don't necessarily think you have to be pregnant yourself to experience this, for my friends who have adopted, I'm sure the process of learning about your baby's growth and development, has given you a similar appreciation of the miraculousness of life!

Now for some much requested belly photos...
10 weeks:


13 weeks:


17 weeks:


My belly from my perspective (why I think I'm so huge!):


My belly from Elisha's perspective (our friend's son):

In the oven...

...is Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes and I can't wait until the timer goes off in 20 minutes. I know this might sound like an early promotion for something I've never even had before, but I've been licking the spoon that I used for stirring, and I already know they are going to be a smashing hit. :)

As for the Vegetable Beef Soup I bought all of the fancy root vegetables for, it was alright, but not worth blogging the recipe. Part of it could have been the fault of the cook, as I did try to spice it up a little with my own additional seasoning. I'm still on the hunt for a great traditional Vegetable Beef Soup recipe...feel free to share if you have a winner!

Thanks, but no thanks

Why is it that as soon as people ask my due date, they then reply with, "Oh, does that make your baby a(n) _____________ (insert astrological sign here)"? Followed by some sort of head nod that means they now fully know what our child's personality, interests, where they will go (if they go) to college, and profession will be. Arghhh...this has become a major pet peeve for me.

It is my request for people to allow our child to show you who they are. I know several people born within the same astrological sign whom all have different personalities, interests, etc. I don't believe that an astrological sign, day of the week, phase of the moon, or certain Chinese year will determine who our child is. I believe that the love they receive, the freedom to grow they are given, and and whom God has created them to be...will all factor in to who our child is. Please feel free to participate in giving them love and the freedom to explore.

Home!

We are back home, and though the weather is hot compared to what we've been experiencing as "fall weather" everywhere else, it is nice to be here. I recently read "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan, and was totally angered by our food industry, but also super motivated to eat a larger variety of vegetables, as well as meat that has been plant fed instead of grain fed. My goal is to try to buy a new green leafy veggie a week and find a recipe that calls for it. Today however, I got carried away with new root veggies after finding a recipe for Vegetable Beef Soup. If it comes out well, I'll share the recipe here later in the week. :)

(parsnip, rutabaga, celery root, and parsnip)

In preparation for coming home, I decided to make a list of all the things I love about Tucson. I'm so often dreaming of living everywhere else that I too often forget to remember what I love about Tucson, and new things I'm looking forward to exploring here. And, above all of that, it doesn't matter where I live, as long as I have Ryan at my side.

In no particular order, what I love and am looking forward to about Tucson:
-great walking and hiking trails
-the Rillito bike path
-going to the White Mountains to celebrate our belated anniversary
-using the clothesline year-round
-Birth Center classes to look forward to! (p.s. I got to the hear baby's heartbeat for the first time today!!)
-cheap movie theater
-The Tucson Botanical Gardens (and the great Cafe there)
-Bookman's trade!
-Friends/Family
-Running and lifting partner
-F5 Game Nights
-Mountain Movers Small Group
-Winter is when all of the good weather outdoor fun begins in Tucson!
-"Here and There Africa"...a new project I'm helping out with at church

Right now sunlight is pouring into the house and I'm listening to Ryan G. and roommate Ryan write music...totally loving it.

Sunriver

Our day off in Sunriver was absolutely wonderful! Cameron went into Bend for the day to hang out with some people he had met at the show, which gave Ryan and I had a day all to ourselves. We spent the day riding (our) bikes around the 35 miles of bike trail throughout Sunriver...along the river, into "town" to go to the grocery store, surrounded by deer...it was lots of great quality time and felt like a little honeymoon in the midst of a 7-week tour.



We spent the evening playing cards next to the fireplace, and then making a hearty dinner (Shepard's Pie) with brownies for dessert. The guys watched the documentary, Tyson, and I suppose I did too, although I also got a nice nap in for part of it. :) The movie was interesting--very sad--I don't know that I'd recommend it, but it did give an interesting background on why Mike Tyson decided to go into fighting.

Today we are driving into San Francisco. It's quite rainy, and I hear it will only get worse as we drive further into the city. But, that's okay...we have good friends waiting for us there...and a warm place to stay. :)

M'oregon...

Last night Ryanhood played a show in Bend, OR at this great non-profit bookstore that sells books, crafts, and art about and by people from Africa. I loved it. So did they. We might be moving. Just kidding. (refer to previous post.)

Right next to Bend, OR though is this amazing national forest with the town of Sunriver. And, it just so happens that one of our friend's parents has a vacation home that they rent out here...and they are letting us stay in it for free! When I went to check us in at the rental agency office they confirmed us for 2 nights, and I (being the strict tour manager I am), said, "No, we actually can only stay one night, we'll be checking out on Monday." But then we got to the house...and I became weak and decided to not stay two nights would simply be crazy...so I called the office, and we are back to our original "reservation" of 2 nights. Our day off was going to be in San Francisco, but instead it will be in Sunriver. There are bikes in the garage and 35 miles of bike trail that we are about to go explore. This is more than a little gift, and we had no idea what a treat it would be...Thanks Katie and Steve (and Mr. and Mrs. Dobson!!).

Just for some snapshots of the house:
(We love the fireplace, and have had it lit whenever we are in or near the living room.) Please also note the gorgeous tree with red and orange leaves outside the window...oh, I love fall!


Ryan making breakfast...


More tomorrow on today's adventures! :)

Oh-regon...I think I love you!

I seem to have many love affairs with cities we travel to. I immediately start to picture what it would be like to live there...and then next thing, I am talking as if we are moving next week. Ryan is patient with me in this regard...he even seems to get a chuckle out of it, for example we were at this great bookstore/venue last night and I said, "I could spend A LOT of time here"...and his next question was, "Are we moving here?". "Maybe".

We spent this past weekend in Portland. Before we even got there, I was pretty sure I was in love with it. I just had this envision of it being a big city/small town feel filled with earth-loving, friendly urbanite hippies who love good food, public transportation, riding bicycles, original music, and don't wear make-up. And, that is exactly what I experienced there...I loved it! It's not far from the ocean. They have an incredible Farmer's Market that even has fresh meats for sale (my new kick is to try to find more free-range grass fed meat to buy). Part of the public transportation system is totally free! And, if you'd rather, you can walk almost anywhere. The streets are numbered or in alphabetical order, so there is no getting lost for me when I go out running. And, they have Powell's Book Store. For those of you in Tucson, it's like Bookman's, but on steroids. It is 4 floors and covers an entire city block...it's awesome.

We stayed with Ryan's friend from childhood, Samir, who is doing his med-school residency in Portland. He made Turkish coffee to go with breakfast. I love that he owns this "Turkish Coffee Set"...although I'm convinced it might really be a child's tea set and some one fooled him. :)


The Farmer's Market...



And, our friends Mira and Eric who live there met us for some delicious coffee and hot cocoa! Thanks for taking time for the visit...soo great to see you!!

Google Analytics

My friend, Jill, has a wonderful blog that makes me smile. Recently, she introduced me to this tool called "Google Analytics" where you can imbed html that will keep track of your followers...so for the fun of it, I decided to do it. And now...I'm a little freaked out. In a good way I suppose. I was under the impression that about 10-20 people read my blog. Mostly family in Michigan and some friends scattered around the country. However, Google Analytics just brought to my attention that since I added this feature to my blog 3 weeks ago, I have had 79 "unique visitors". WHO ARE YOU?? Seriously, I would LOVE to know. There are readers in Idaho and Florida...I didn't even know I knew anyone who lived in these states! I'm in Idaho right now...we could get together! :)

So, today I was going to write about how I got ringworm on my leg from someone's cat we stayed with in Denver (I'm sooo thankful it at least wasn't bedbugs!!), but somehow I don't know if that is still appropriate or if that would be considered TMI since I don't really know who is reading this. :)

Instead, I would LOVE it if you would leave me a comment (even if I already know you read my blog) and just say who you are (and if it's not obvious (i.e. you are my mom), how you found my blog) and where you live....THANK YOU!! Oh, and if you do not have a blogger account, you can just leave the comment using the "anonymous" button, but don't forget to also include your NAME in the comment then. I look forward to meeting all of you...and getting some comments to read on our long drives over the next couple of days. :)

p.s. For any bloggers out there who would like to use Google Analytics, it's very easy...if I could do it...you can can do it...just click the link and it will walk you through the steps of imbedding it in the html of your blog.

Population 171

Yes that is right, last night we played a house concert in a town with a population of 171 people! I really like what Ryan blogged about it, so I will let you venture over and read his words instead of writing too much more here.

A couple of fun tid bits that Ryan did not mention...

*Kris' family, who hosted the house concert, has keys to every building in the town, except for one (the new feed store...which I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they obtain a key for that too.)

*They made us dinner (and dessert!) using a dutch oven. Now, I had always heard this term, and even have cooked recipes that called for a dutch oven, but never really looked into what that meant. It's wonderful...soo Little House on the Prairie style...it's a cast iron pot cooked over coals! (Although the photo I found on google has it cooked over an open fire.) The menu was: meatloaf with carrots, onions, and potatoes on top...covered with cheese! And, black forest cake for dessert...soo yummy!

Bitone and I THANK YOU!!

Bitone raised $7,060 dollars from 88 donors during their 30 day fund raising campaign with Global Giving. This means Bitone will now have a PERMANENT spot on the Global Giving website!! THANK YOU soo much for all who donated. If anyone would ever like more information on Bitone or how you can help, don't hesitate to email or call me. :)

Words from Bitone:
"With this momentum from Global Giving, we are very hopeful that this is a great step in the right direction towards realizing our goal of reaching $67,000 needed for acquiring sound machines, performance costumes, musical instruments as well as logistical costs of food and education for the 25 kids for a full year. This is the beginning of the call and we are very sure that with your continued engagement, Bitone children will survive!!"

Weekend at Jani's!

While Ryan(hood) traveled to the northeast this past weekend for shows in VT and MA, I drove to Boulder to spend the weekend with Jani!
It was fabulous! The weather was gorgeous, the leaves spectacular, and the food scrumptious!
We got to the farmer's market just as it was closing...but the perfect time for scoring free baked goods (a loaf of gluten free bread, and 2 pieces of tres leches cake normally $3/slice for $2 total)! We walked through a cute area of town (The WestEnd) and dreamed of living there while sipping coffee and tea.
Saturday evening Jana had a work party where spouses and children were invited...so I went along with her. And, sure enough everyone thought I was her partner. The funny thing, is that we've gone through this before when living in Boston and spending so much time together that her co-workers there assumed we were dating. I had fun with it, and just went along with whatever they thought, however Jana felt the need for some explaining. Perhaps my short hair and vest didn't help the situation...

On Sunday we hiked Chataqua Park. Everyone kept telling us that there were two families of bears wandering around the park...so naturally we decided to go on a bear hunt. However, as soon as we heard rustling close by...we freaked out and immediately headed down the mountain. Oh, how brave we thought we wanted to be.

We missed Jill dearly, as it was always the trio of us together in Boston...but since she couldn't be with us in person, iChat was in order!

Oh, I love touring...and the friendship touring that comes with it!

It keeps getting better and better!

Our date night the other night was fabulous...and on the way home we ran across this gem, which made it all the better!

...our favorite grocery store in Tucson has ventured further west to Denver!

Yesterday we took a day trip to Boulder to have lunch with Jani on her break and explore the outdoors. It was so great to see her in her new surroundings (we know each other from Boston)...I can't wait to spend more time together with her this weekend!!

Here are a few photos of the beautiful world of Boulder!




"...dang, what did they do to make this hot cocoa so good?"

Denver

We are in Denver for a couple of days, and enjoying the beautiful flowers that seem to be in bloom everywhere. There is a great bookstore we found today called Tattered Cover Book Store. Some new books that I saw there and have added to the "To Read" list include: The Horse Boy, Just Like Us, and Outcasts United.
The night is free for us to have...so Ryan and I are off to a date night, sponsored by the Olive Garden gift card we received recently. :)
Tomorrow...we're heading to Boulder for a daytrip to visit Jani!

Regulars

We are back in Kansas City, MO (well, Independence to be exact). I love this little town! This morning I walked in the crisp fall air around the town square and stopped at the Main Street Coffeeshop to say hello to the manager, who has become a friend we've made on our frequent stops here. Ryan and I are now back at the coffeeshop waiting for another friend to stop by with her 3 week old baby! It's nice to feel like a "regular" in town, with friends and people who know our name. :)

A day of rest with good friends.

With the day off, and the guys in Boston, I decided to take a little roadtrip to visit my ladies of Chicago. Similar to how being outdoors by the lake in Milwaukee leaves me feeling refreshed, spending time with these friends leaves me totally refreshed and recharged. I wish I had more photos to share with you, but I was too busy just wanting to "be" that I decided not to worry about taking too many pictures.

Here is a photo of most of us from last year at Marquette University watching Ryanhood.


The day was full of many surprises...


Analisa flew in from San Francisco!


We made farm-shaped ice cream sandwiches!




And, they threw me a surprise baby shower!


Thanks for all of the love you guys showered me with...it was so great to spend the day with you!!

In love with Milwaukee

It is often asked what cities we like to visit when we are on the road...and a common answer among both Ryan and I is Milwaukee. I think it is because whenever we are in Milwaukee it's beautiful fall weather...the leaves are changing...the lake is right there to enjoy and has great rocks for climbing on...it's a place where we leave feeling refreshed.







And, to add to the greatness of Milwaukee this time around for us, was Brewing Grounds for Change Coffeeshop...



Handmade signage for the show...


I didn't have anything to sew while I was there, but it definitely made me feel more at home seeing they had a sewing machine should the need have arisen.

dos!

Tonight's show was in Indiana at St. Joseph's College. A fun aspect of playing in Indiana, is that no matter where in the state we are, Ryan's aunt and uncle are sure to come and watch. Ryan's uncle is only 8 years older than him, so growing up they were always close. Tonight, they decided to bring their oldest daughter with them, as she reminded them that she is now six and old enough for concerts and staying up late. So, I present to you Abby Green and Abby Green...unfortunate for me, I end up being "big Abby" and she, "little Abby" when we are all together. But, she's cute and full of personality, so I'll let it slide. :)