Lent - A Reflection

So, this past Saturday was the last day of Lent. I am no longer spiritually required to be thankful for anything or take pictures anymore.

No, but actually it was a very nice experience. It took a little getting used to, having to take pictures everyday (and then uploading, editing, and loading them onto this blog)... but I think it was a good thing because it made me get excited about photography again. I want to be excited by photography again. I have been kind of in a lull.

I'm going to put the word out officially that I want to start shooting again. (Sidenote: I used to take pictures professionally (and sporadically), as an on-location / natural-light photographer before I got pregnant with Peace.) And I'm going to take pictures at a birth in about four weeks.

I think I want to take pictures again. I know I want to take pictures at births (because this is the only excuse I have to get invited to a birth). I'm just trying to figure out if I want to shoot because I want to take pictures or because I want to earn money. I think maybe it's both.

I have been feeling this need to earn money lately. Last year, on our tax returns, the net income between Vernon and myself was less than $3,000 (him for chiropractic screening, and me for a photo spread that was published in Mothering Magazine). We also get about $21,000 in student loans for living expenses every year, and that somehow manages to be more than enough (because, as you can tell from my previous entry, I don't spend a lot of money), so I'm not complaining.

But the hard part comes with earning money with photography is in trying to balance my schedule with Vernon because he often has things that come up at the last minute and then forgets to check the calendar to see if I already have something going on (this hasn't happened with photo appointments yet, because I don't have any, but it has happened with a blessingway and a MOMS dinner at the church just within the past two weeks). So, that makes me a little leery about wanting to schedule things.

Plus, I don't want scheduling photo shoots to overwhelm me with my job as a mother (as it has done, somewhat, in the past.) So, although I would like the extra money, sometimes it is just easier to NOT spend money, instead of doing work to make money so that we can spend more of it. Does that make sense?

And I have always been quite good at not spending money. I mean, before Vernon went back to school for chiropractic, he was earning $18,750 as a Catholic school teacher in a small town, and we lived in this $38,000 house:

So, not earning a lot money has never been a big deal.

Now we live in a home that we bought for $130,000 and is currently on the market for $115,000 because somebody (me) mistakenly thought: Oh, paying a mortgage will be the same as paying rent anyway, plus we can just sell it in four years when we move. No problem. So, if anybody knows someone who is in the market for a 2 bedroom / 1 bath townhome in Burnsville, Minnesota... please let me know!

I'm always trying to come up with new ways to make money, none of which are ever very profitable. I signed up to take these paid online surveys (on products and services and such), but I haven't really qualified for very many of the surveys because they ask lifestyle questions and I think they weed me about because, 1) I don't earn any money, and 2) I don't spend any money. I'm not exactly the demographic they're trying to reach.

I also had grand dreams of earning money off this blog (as this lady does here, and this lady here), but I haven't figured out how to do that either (I don't have enough time to open up a drawer to look for pants, let alone figure out how to market my blog).

So, if you all just want to donate money to Goofy Mama, you can send it my way via PayPal to goofymama@hotmail.com. I'm serious. I'll gladly take it. I saw the lady do this in Julie & Julia because she wanted to make money to buy ingredients for the food that she was posting about. I'll be buying ingredients too... sort of (ingredients for what makes up my life... you know, things like ponytail holders, electricity, and raw milk).

P.S. You can also use my goofymama@hotmail.com e-mail address to send me funny messages, a question, or even a  picture of your cat.

Lent - Day 40 - The Last One

Yesterday, I went shopping at Sears. I bought these five shirts for $16.96:

I got a Sears card, which gave me a $15 credit, so I actually spent only $1.96 on those five shirts. Here is a picture of one that cost $0.99. Yes, ninety-nine cents, people! That gives me such a hard-on. (I apologize for the way Peace looks in the picture. I obviously care more about how I look than she):

Today, Easter egg hunt:

Lent - Day 39

We dyed Easter eggs today, with friends:

Aren't they beautiful?

Lent - Day 38

For clean children (because it means they spent the day getting dirty):

Lent - Day 37

For sun-kissed cheeks:

For these brown eyes:

And for all of the Trucktown books:

Lent - Day 36

Good day. Sunshine.

Lent - Day 35

Vern's back.

Lent - Day 34

I love blessingways. This is from my wonderful friend Alyssa's. The web of sisterhood:

And the beads:

Lent - Day 33

Vernon is out of town, and before he went he left us with these:

The first time Vernon went out of town, he cried when he got back because we were supposed to be like Paul and Linda McCartney and never spend a night apart from each other (and because he especially missed the kids). It was very emotional stuff, people. Now, he goes out of town (to these chiropractic seminars and camps) about four or five times a year and it is totally not a big deal anymore. It is actually weird to think about how it was so emotional for us the first time.

I actually enjoy that he does all these things apart from me because when he comes back, he tells me all about it and it's really quite interesting hearing about what's going on within his chiropractic life and in the lives of all of his chiropractic friends. These are friends who I hardly even know in real life but feel like I know quite well in this story-telling life. I guess it is kind of akin to following somebody's blog, right?

Sometimes I feel left out, like when he comes home with goofy movies that he made with Dave's cell phone at the airport. It makes me think back to the times when WE used to make goofy movies at the airport. Or when he comes home with a video of him singing Under the Bridge in the van with a bunch of other people, and I am not there because I am here with the kids, and we are not singing Under the Bridge (although I should really teach it to them).

Lent - Day 32

For Simpsons chess:

Lent - Day 30

For babywearing:

And the new (borrowed) Mei Tei, which I adore.

Lent - Day 29

Here are some things people have been typing (verbatim) into search engines and coming up with my blog (I did this once before):

The most popular thing is people just typing in GOOFY MAMA (or GOOFY MOMMA or GOOFY MOM BLOG, et al).

The second most popular thing is about putting something into a vagina (HOW TO GET HUSBAND TO PUT THINGS IN PU**Y, THINGS PUT IN A PU**Y, THINGS TO PUT IN VAGINA, I LOVE PUTTING THINGS IN MY VAGINA, et al).

The third most popular thing is SOUR CREAM LASAGNA.

And the fourth most popular thing is CAN I PUT COCONUT OIL INTO MY VAGINA?

Somebody typed in ALISON PAPA MURPHY once. 

Now, onto my picture of thankfulness for today... for the silly tricks Ezra does to make Peace laugh.

Lent - Day 28

This is the second day in a row where I have been super busy and haven't taken my camera with for any of it. Last night, I quickly took a picture of that glass of kombucha. Tonight, I went and took a picture of my husband reading books to the kids (because that is what I am thankful for today) but my camera battery went dead. So, I guess I have let myself (and all of my readers, who, I like to think, check my blog daily to read what wonderful thoughts and insights I have come up with for that day) down with my little Lenten experience.

But, instead of leaving you with no picture for today, I will leave you with this... which was the photo we used for our Christmas cards in 2003.

Lent - Day 26

Today, I am thankful for our deck so that Peace can play outside without crawling away or putting grass / woodchips / sand in her mouth.

I am thankful for our trip to the park.

I am thankful for my kids who like to talk about things like airplane pilots, astronauts, fairies and farts instead of Super Mario Brothers, Kung Fu Panda and Dora the Explorer. I am thankful that my kids like to play in places like this:





















And do stuff like this:

I am thankful for this:

 And, lastly, for this:

Lent - Day 24

This picture...

I showered today and this is what my hair looks like after I shower and before it gets all greasy (or before I straighten it):

Lent - Day 23

A sleeping baby...

Lent - Day 22

I had ordered new checks awhile ago, and I just ran out of the old ones today so I forgot all about what I ordered the new ones to look like. I usually like to do something cheeky with ordering checks, because I think it's funny. For instance, one time I ordered us Harley Davidson checks just because it was the most ironic check design I could find. Ha ha. Hilarious, right?

Well, after seeing the checks this time, I remembered what I had done and it made me smile. See, there was a spot on the checks where you could add another line of text for free. I couldn't think of anything witty or sarcastic to write at the time (unbelievable, I KNOW!), so I asked my kids what I should write.

Here is what they came up with:

My daughter said, "Hi, this is a check." And my son said, "Pizza healthy."

Am I the only one who does weird things like this or do others as well? Please answer. I'm genuinely curious.

Speaking of weird things that I do, my kids are invited to a birthday party next week so they are going to miss Sunday (Saturday) School. I told my kids that they could mention to their teacher that they are going to be gone. "And then," I said, "Say to her: 'It's because we love birthday parties more than we love Jesus.'"

Lent - Day 21

I love my homemade pizza. Here is the recipe:

Mix 2-3/4 cup freshly ground hard red winter wheat with 2 T vinegar and 1-1/4 cup water. Soak overnight.
Grease 13x18 in cookie sheet with coconut oil and spread the wheat dough onto it.

Then, I used to mix up my own pizza sauce using a 14 oz can of tomato sauce (2 tsp oregano, 1 tsp garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper), but since we shouldn't be eating canned tomatoes anymore, the only solution I can find for tomatoes in a glass jar is in the form of spaghetti sauce. I guess I could use fresh tomatoes, but I haven't done that yet. So, for now, I'm just using some organic spaghetti sauce. Spread that over the crust.

Add some spinach leaves.

Then, grate 8 oz. of raw cheese, and add that.

Lastly, dice a red pepper and slice a red onion and top the pizza with that. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. It's yummy.

Lent - Day 20

Wow. Halfway through Lent, and I'm still at it. Good for me.

It is Ocean's birthday today, so it is obvious what I am thankful for. Here is what we did:

And here is my husband, just because he is gorgeous:

Lent - Day 19

There is this park where we live that has a bunch of woods beside it. About two years ago, we went into the woods and built a fairy house. It is still there today.