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Dan Cathy takes the fall for others.

I try to not get too political too often anymore, but on occasion something just really gets under my skin and I arrogantly feel like it's somehow my duty to share my wisdom with the world.  Like the Duggars.  Heh.  I guess that's both the beauty and the curse of the internet.  We're all journalists now.

With all of that said, proceed with caution into the rest of this post, because it's merely me arrogantly thinking that anyone cares what I have to say.  I just have to say it, to put it out there on my little slice of the internet.  

Very rarely, I am ashamed to call myself a liberal.  I call myself a liberal because I believe in love.  In generosity.  In acceptance.  Right now is one of those rare times.  I am ashamed, and I want people to know that while I align with liberals 9 times out of 10, I do not align with them right now.

Right now, Chick-fil-a is under attack.  In case you've been hiding under a rock, behold.  While I think Dan Cathy could have chosen his words more gracefully, I understand that he was merely answering a question that was asked of him - that he believes homosexuality is a sin, that he supports the biblical definition of a marriage, and that his company, while not a Christian company, is based on biblical principles.  We should not be surprised by this, nor should we be shocked that he, then, donates to organizations that support the biblical model of marriage.  Shockingly, this rather benign (and not new or unique) statement has sparked a firestorm unlike anything I've seen in a long time.

If we're being honest, let's not pretend that Chick-fil-a is the only company who donates to organizations we don't support.  If you want to be in the business of only supporting those who support those you support (ha, try to follow that), then let's take a long, hard look at every company we do business with.  

He did not bash homosexuals. He did not call for their heads, threaten their families, fire people up to fight against homosexual marriage, support discrimination or anything of the like.  Someone asked him a question, he answered honestly.  And his answer came from the Bible he's allowed to read and the religion he's allowed to practice in a country that is SUPPOSED to be built on free speech.  

Me personally?  Like I said before, I don't feel convicted about homosexuality so I've never taken an official stance on it.   I am a baby Christian and there are many issues in the Bible that I have not yet reconciled in my own mind.  There are many passages that have yet to make sense to me, but I continually strive for answers...and for peace along with those answers.

I watched a documentary awhile ago called For The Bible Tells Me So, and I was definitely swayed by the idea that we have possibly misinterpreted the passages dealing with homosexuality.  I definitely want to believe that.  But as Christians know, wanting to believe something doesn't always make it right, so I'm not here to convince you one way or another that homosexuality is or isn't a sin.  I feel fortunate that at this point, I don't have to dig deep and find what I believe to be a real answer to this question, because I am not gay.  

I am extremely passionate about the denial of rights to a minority, however.  I'm so passionate about this that I have quite the unpopular opinion about illegal immigrants that I won't bother getting into at this point.  I feel strongly that everyone be given equal rights.  Let's pretend that we are certain homosexuality is a sin.  Does that make it okay to make it illegal in our country for homosexuals to get married?  Absolutely not.  We don't make divorce illegal, do we?  And I don't see anyone fighting for that. 

I believe that it is not our job as Christians to force others to live by our ideals or beliefs, but to live by example, to be a light to the world and to share the great news of the gospel with others - through love.  

God gave us free will, so the idea that we should force everyone (Christians and non-Christians) to live by the laws of the Bible makes no sense to me.  God could have molded us into the puppets he wanted us to be and created a literally perfect world, but entrance into Heaven would mean nothing without free will.

We can pretend all we want, but in this country we do not treat all sin equally.  We've somehow targeted homosexuality as this colossal sin that must be conquered above any other.  

Now that I've gotten all of that out of the way, I can move on to the protests of CFA, which I am vehemently against.

Let's lay it all out there and take an honest look at what's happening.

Someone asks Dan Cathy what he thinks about homosexuality.  Rather than lying or sugarcoating to be nice and politically correct and ensure no loss of business, he was honest.  He told the truth and spoke what's on his heart without being hateful to homosexuals.  He simply shared what he believes to be true from the Bible.  

People cherry picked parts of the quote and took to the internet to ignite a firestorm against Dan Cathy and Chick-fil-a.  They claimed all sorts of things: that CFA is anti-gay, that they hate gay marriage, that they discriminate against homosexuals, that their objective is to spread hate messages across the country.  I read all sorts of things that were nothing more than lies or speculation.  

Worse, I read death threats.  I read hateful vitriol.  I read things that downright embarrassed me and things that made me sick to my stomach.  

It is okay to decide you want to withdrawal your financial support from a company.  It's an American right, and I fully support that!  I am the first to encourage people to vote with their wallets - think food (or more specifically the treatment of our food before it becomes our food).  

But to ignite the kind of hate that has spread like wildfire across the internet in the last week because someone has a religious belief that differs from yours - stated in an unhateful manner - should not become the new American way.  

And it certainly shouldn't be defended, but it is being defended in droves.

I just can't make sense of the flawed logic behind this angry boycott.  

The following incredibly hateful quotes were pulled from either comments on articles, facebook, twitter, or message boards:

"It's about time these f*ing Christians get what they deserve.  Pieces of sh*t."

"lol moralfags" 

"God is coming for all you Chick-fil-a a**holes!" -in response to the VP of PR's death

"jokes with their own punchlines built in: the VP of public relations for chick fil a died of a heart attack this morning."

"The Christians and Dan Cathy are a bunch of village idiots."

"Screw Chick fillet and all the crazy religious nutjobs who support him."

It is more than a clever quote to say that you don't fight fire with fire.  But that's what's being both done and defended.

I'm not a genius, but I have a proposition.  Rather than hate each other more than we already do, let's re-direct this energy at working toward the separation of Church and state.  Let's work together to ensure that both religion (or lack thereof) and marriage are equal rights in this country.  

It doesn't have to be a war.  The majority of my Christian friends feel that marriage should be a right afforded to everyone.  Some of them believe it's a sin, but none of them have said they want to deny that right to anyone.  

Rather than hate Chick-fil-a, who really has done nothing more than express a belief, let's exert the energy we would have spent hating Chick-fil-a on our government, who ultimately holds the power.  We have forgotten along the way that though our government holds the power, we collectively hold the power over our government.  But instead, we're using that energy to fight businesses?  Because that will somehow help the objective of equal rights?  Why not go straight to the source of the denial of equal rights - the government.  There are atrocities in both parties happening right now, as I write this.  

First, we've denied human beings - breathing, feeling human beings - a right that should be very basic and afforded to anyone.

Secondly, the government - our actual, elected officials - are banning a business from entering cities across this country because the owner believes that the Bible says homosexuality is a sin.  Read that again slowly and take that in.  The government is bullying a business for expressing a religious belief.  Not for attacking homosexuals or spreading hate messages or discriminating against homosexuals.  Just for saying, "Hey, this is what my Bible says so this is what I believe and what we support."  If that doesn't scare you to death, you might want to check your pulse.

It's time to end this fight once and for all.  It's time for Christians to admit they don't own the laws of this land and they don't get to dictate how others live based on their Bible, and it's time for those who aren't Christian to lay off Christianity, end the hateful vitriol and respect freedom of speech at all times, not just when you agree with what's being said.

Freedom of speech is sacrosanct in this country.

I pulled the following quote from this post, because I think it is incredibly important and the perfect way to end.

"Of all the groups in the world who are 'hated,' I often feel that none are hated more than Christians who are loyal to Jesus Christ and His teaching, who - despite popular belief - was not about hate, but love for and salvation of ANYONE who would ACCEPT Him as their savior.  Bums me out how often His true purpose and message are completely overlooked or simply ignored.  I love my Lord with all my heart and as a true follower of Christ I'm called to love ALL people as well...and I do: gay, straight, black, white, old, young, sick, healthy, mentally or physically challenged or not, liberal, conservative, Redskins fans, Cowboys fans, country or rock fans...and yes, that means you too.  If you translate God's teaching to intolerance/hate (despite Him commanding us to love EVERYONE) then I don't know what to say...but I do know what to DO because my purpose never changes.  So like it or not...I love YOU despite our differences, allegiances, choices or values.  Matthew 22:36-40 - 'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?'  Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it.  Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Both sides are guilty of spewing hate, but the hate has not come from Dan Cathy and we would all be wise to recognize that.

Best quick, healthy lunch EVER.

I've been back on the food tracking wagon.  Unlike with my other two children, the weight hasn't dropped off...AT ALL.  I'm not blessed enough to lose it all without trying like so many women are, but I generally lose 10-15 pounds in the first few weeks (after the initial birth weight).  This time, three weeks in, I hadn't lost a single ounce since that first day.  

So I'm reluctantly back to watching what I eat.  I still have to eat a lot since I'm breastfeeding, so I'm shooting for 2000ish calories a day.  I've been tracking my calories on My Fitness Pal, and with their iPhone app, it's practically changed my life.  That thing is AMAZING, especially because you can just scan a barcode of something you're eating and it finds it instantly.


I try to get some exercise in every day, including about 10 minutes of strength training.  Last time I did this (back when I lost a ton and got pretty in shape right before I found out I was pregnant with Adalyn), I had a lot of success doing just these short, 10 Minute Solutions series.  The one I use for most of my strength training is this Target Toning one.  It works for lazy busy gals like me.  I would do two different body parts a day, rotating between days because they say it's not good to focus on the same body part day after day.  

ANYWAY, after that I would head straight to the kitchen and down a protein shake.  I don't know if it was the video alone that helped me actually get a little toned or a combo of the toning workouts followed immediately with the protein, but I like to think the protein shake helps because it's yummy and a little addictive.  :)

Getting to the point, I just whipped up a protein shake that I used as my lunch replacement because I'd just worked out and I didn't really have the time or energy to make myself a lunch.  And because it is INSANELY DELICIOUS, I figured I had to share!

1 cup of milk (I use whole because I'm weird about food, you know, and believe it's the only healthy milk but that's another post for another day)

1 scoop of chocolate protein powder (of all the stuff I've tried, this one is BY FAR the yummiest - no chalkiness at all - it's expensive but I would never use anything else and it lasts forever)

One banana (frozen chunks is best because it makes it creamy like a milk shake - if you don't have frozen chunks I'd add a little handful of ice to your smoothie)

2 tablespoons of PB Powder (I became crazy about this stuff the last time I dieted)

Blend in a blender.  It's huge, completely filled me up even more than a normal lunch and is pretty healthy, especially if you do what I did and throw in a big handful of fresh spinach.  In case you've been hiding under a rock and don't know about the green smoothie phenomenon, smoothies are a great way to get greens in your diet if you hate them!

That's all I got today.  :)  Go, make this!  Be in heaven!

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One Month!

One month.  How?!  He's actually older than that now (sob!) but in my Oh-My-Gosh-I-Have-Three-Kids-Someone-Help-Me Madness, I'm just now getting around to posting this.

Baby boy:

At one month, you are 11 pounds, 7 ounces.  Wow!

You love your car seat.  You super duper love to eat. 

You smile now!  Not a lot, but enough to make my heart so happy.

You sleep alright.  You still want me up several times a night to feed you, but you're a newborn.  Mama expects that.  :)

You're busting out of your newborn clothes and pretty solidly in your 0-3 months.  

You rolled over two or three times from your tummy to your back.

You love to kick your feet.  You make little cooing noises here and there and they totally surprise you.  Like, "Did that noise just come out of me?!"

Your brother & sissy adore you, but sometimes sissy doesn't realize she needs to be gentle and you get smacked square in the face.  Sorry 'bout that.  

You sometimes like to be swaddled.  Sometimes not.  We go with the flow.

You're a happy baby unless you're gassy, which, unfortunately, you are a lot.  You also hate having a dirty diaper and you totally let it be known when we need to change you.  You will not tolerate lazy parents!

You've really completed our family, baby boy.  We love you!

Landon's birth: the final edition.

My friend Lizz came to our birth to document it for us in beautiful pictures.  I'm so grateful to her for helping us capture these moments to remember forever and always.  Like we do, here's Landon's birth video.  

Adalyn has her own birth video here and Ben has one here.  :)

All You Curly Ladies

Image source: Smart Girl Consulting

(Sung to Beyonce's Single Ladies tune)

All you curly ladies

All you curly ladies

All you curly ladies

All you curly ladies

Put your hands up

Up in the shower, you don't use shampoo, you do your own little thing

It's called co-washing and now you wanna try it

'Cause you want some better curls

WOW.  Sorry, I totally just did that.  I wrote that blog title on accident and then all I could sing in my head was Single Ladies.  

Anyway, let's move along before I chicken out and don't post this at all out of embarrassment.  

Who has naturally curly hair?  And doesn't embrace it?  My hand is totally up.  

I hate my curls.  They're ugly because I don't know how to take care of them.  Oh, and also maybe because I haven't had a cut/trim since Adalyn was a newborn.  And now I have another newborn.  Whoops.

I stumbled upon Curly Girl: The Handbook a few weeks ago.  I've heard a lot about it over the last year or two, but I finally looked into it a few weeks ago.  And man, is it a life-changer!  Seriously.  Life. Changer.  If you have curly hair and haven't yet taken the plunge into this process, can I say you simply must?  Because you must.  

I'll post some before and after pictures when I'm totally done.  I've got an appointment with a Deva-trained stylist (in other words, trained in NYC by the woman who wrote this book and they do dry haircuts, which is apparently the only way to go if you have curly hair) on July 10th and I'm so excited!  It never occurred to me that if you have curly hair, you should see someone who specializes in curly hair, but I learned that, and many other things, with this book.  

There is a wealth of information to be had out there for curly-haired girls, so I think for the first time in my entire life, I'm going to try to embrace my curls instead of straighten them away.  

To make a long book very short (you should really get the book, I can't do it justice), rather than washing your hair with shampoo, wash it with conditioner.  They call this co-washing, and you do it because most shampoos contain harsh sulfates that damage and dry your hair out.  Not good for curly gals.

You must use a certain conditioner for co-washing, then a different conditioner for conditioning (the book goes into detail on this).  The co-washing conditioner contains enough washing power to clear your scalp and hair of build-up as long as you're using the right products.

I use this as my co-washing conditioner.  It smells yummy!  And this as my regular conditioner.  These are both safe, approved products.  A cheaper, approved option for a regular conditioner would be Garnier Fructis Body Boost conditioner.

Don't use a brush on your hair.  Ever again.  Wide-toothed combs all the way!  Or even just your fingers.  Rinse your hair with cold water right before getting out of the shower.  This keeps the frizzies away.

After your shower, never towel dry your hair.  You can squeeze excess water out, or use a microfiber towel to blot it dry.  Some women wait to do this until after they've applied their product, but I haven't tried that method yet.  It just seems...I don't know...illogical?

While your hair is still really wet, apply your products.  You'll want an approved leave-in conditioner first.  I use this because I just think it's the best.  But this is a cheaper approved option.

Then I use a prepping mousse.  I doubt you have to do this, but I've found my curls work much better when I do, so I'm sticking to it.  And I am so in love with the scent of this prepping mousse that I could never use anything else!  Oh my gosh, it's heavenly.

Finally, I've read the best thing to finish off your curls with is gel.  This might explain why I have hated my curls for so long.  I've been using mousse alone for years and years, and my hair is just a big frizz ball.  I remember gel as being so goupy and leaving your hair crunchy, but as long as I scrunch up my hair as it air dries, this isn't an issue for me.  I use this gel and it's perfect and cheap.

The last rule I'll leave you with is to let your curls air dry, and scrunch as it's drying every so often.  They say if you really need to, you can use a diffuser, but the ideal is to always let it air dry.  Never use a regular blow dryer without a diffuser.  

On the site Naturally Curly, you can find your hair type.  I saw quite a few women on the forums talking about having barely wavy hair that became really pretty curls when they implemented this method, so if you've always wanted curls, you may actually be able to have them if you do the above!

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For fun's sake.

The list of names.  I love looking back on these years down the road. 

Have I ever mentioned that I was nearly Ariel Dawn?  I'm not sure how shortly before I was born my parents changed their mind, but I have to say I am mighty thankful they did.  Can you imagine what life would have been like for me when Little Mermaid came out?!