Sisters Chat - 7/29/11

Each Friday we will post a blog entry of the four of us talking about different things.  We hope you enjoy getting to know us and see us interacting here.

Maude: Let's start with a Sister Line-up,

in age order introducing ourselves.

I am Maude. The oldest of these lovely sisters.

I have a wonderful husband of 10 years and two children (3 and 1).

Katharine: I am Katharine the second oldest.

I have been married 9 months and, so far , have no children

Lizzi: Anything to tell us?

Katharine: nope

haha

Maude: Mom would kill us if we found out on a blog before she did!

Katharine: well, you didn't find out anything!

lol

The Federal Debt And You (and me too!)

I found a fantastic booklet on The Heritage Foundation's website here,  http://www.paramountcommunication.com/heritage/slay_the_beast/, if you want to order one.  It is a primer on the affect the Federal Debt has on our everyday lives, especially anyone aged 5 - 30.

They name anyone between 5 - 30 years old the Debt-Paying Generation and claim that we will be "the generation that improves the least from the time we start to work to the time we start to retire." 

Where are we at right now with our National Debt?  "Total debt was at $9.1 trillion at the beginning of 2011... This debt will double in just the next ten years."  In addition to this is the looming crisis of the Baby Boomers retiring which will cause the government to borrow more to pay for their Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.  Our debt will skyrocket even higher in a few short years.

My Own Bike

For the first time, I have my very own bike. Yes, I'm an adult who never had her own bike... growing up we lived on a busy street and didn't have sidewalks so it was unsafe for us when we were little. By the time I was old enough to ride a bike down our street to safer streets, I had no interest in doing so. I grew up and got married. All of a sudden, I wanted a bike! My husband humored me (even though I told him I would probably be a terrible bike rider) and bought a bike for me.

As silly as it sounds, I was SO excited to finally have my own bike! As soon as I got home, I wanted to try it out. I was a little tentative at first... would I be a terrible bike rider? Would I even enjoy it? Turns out that I love it! I don't have the stamina to keep biking for long but I have a desire to work up to it.

I love racing down a hill with the wind in my hair (makes me feel like a little kid!), coasting along... I even enjoy working my way up a big, steep hill. It helps that my sweet husband is such an encourager.

A picture my husband took of me on my bike

I hope to spend a lot of time taking bike rides the rest of this summer and fall, before the snow comes! Living in Minnesota, it's just around the corner... :)

The Sisterhood

The beauty of sisterhood is the natural solidarity it encompasses. It is like one long conversation with your best girlfriend, plus the bonus of shared genetics and blood. I know that some of you may view those shared family genes as a negative for friendship, but I find that it only enhances the bond. Sisters are friends that never lose touch, move on, or give up. They are not allowed to. Even when you come to differences of opinion (and we certainly do in our family!) you are able to see beyond that discussion, see beyond that moment, and look into the heart of who they really are.

Arugula

Arugula. Who likes the stuff anyway? I would choose any other green leaf before I would pick up some arugula. The taste is strong and bitter, I am not a fan. Somehow on my adventure to the Farmer's market last Saturday I ended up with some arugula. I have a "sympathy buying" problem. I noticed that one of the vendors had no one looking at their veggies so I went up to look. Somehow I ended up with arugula... They were a sweet couple who kept telling me the health benefits of arugula and had a nice little booklet telling me all about it. I am typically more of a spinach kind of a girl, but alas! Spinach is over for the season. I decided to help them out and give myself a bit of a challenge. I have been trying to like foods I have disliked for a long time (i.e.bananas, raisins, coconut, and nuts) I have only succeeded in liking nuts and just may be beginning to like coconut (bananas and raisins I have no taste for). I am now beginning my trial of arugula. I first decided to have it in a simple salad (that is typically what one does with arugula) I decided to throw in a lot of veggies (maybe counteract that strong arugula taste a bit). I added some oak lettuce, cucumbers, green peppers, and tomatoes. I decided that fresh herbs are always yummy in anything. I plucked off some sage and basil out of my pots of planted herbs and added that to my salad as well. I tossed it all in a olive oil, cracked pepper mixture and topped off my arugula salad in feta cheese. It was delicious! I have now also tried a prosciutto roll stuffed with arugula, goat cheese and a champagne salad dressing. It was also very tasty. I may be liking arugula yet...

Cleaning

I love to clean. I'm one of those weirdos who likes everything to always be in it's designated place. And no, I don't have any kids yet so I still have hopes that I can keep our house as neat and tidy when that time comes...

This week I've been cleaning the grout of our tiled kitchen floor. I love cleaning something when you can see the difference that it makes.

My husband and I recently bought our first home and I don't think the previous owners EVER cleaned the grout, yuck! Here's a couple pictures during the process. As you can see, it's obvious where the grout has been cleaned and the areas that still needed to be done. I finished up today! Now the entire kitchen floor is clean and white. Next grout project: bathroom tile.