Embarrassed and Sulfate-free.

My embarrassment and the fact that I am sulfate-free have absolutely nothing to do with each other, but as I was preparing to post, I remembered something I had wanted to post earlier.

Remember this post? I was determined to do some "extreme couponing". This show inspired me to jump on the coupon bandwagon. It's a year later and I am totally jaded. First of all, the coupons totally stink here in Lexington. Secondly, I just don't really have the time to dedicate to effective couponing. When I first got started, I would spend a few hours on Fridays organizing and searching for coupons and the best deals and I'd only save 30-40%. I loved watching Extreme Couponing because it inspired me to work harder, but I also felt a little inadequate. I dedicated a lot of time without a lot of reward. Then, I saw this article and I was, quite frankly, relieved... and disgusted. Relieved because the situations highlighted on the show were totally unrealistic. Without cheating and breaking the law, I would never be able to walk out of a store with hundreds of dollars of merchandise for free. Shew. Burden lifted. My 30-40% savings is still okay. I know others can save more, but 40% savings looks a whole lot better against 50 or 60% than 100% savings. At the same time, I am disgusted. By the companies, by the producers, and by the shoppers. If you read the above linked article, including some of the in-article links, shoppers and store spokespeople have admitted to committing coupon fraud and bending the rules for the sake of "good TV". So, why am I embarrassed? Because I bought it. I totally fell for it and believed that if I wasn't walking out of the store with carts of free groceries, then I was missing the boat completely. Fortunately, I have seen the light and I no longer spend hours on Friday afternoons surrounded by coupon inserts, clipped coupons, and a cloud of frustration and anxiety. Praise the Lord.

I have also seen the light concerning my hair products. Nothing to do with couponing, I know. It's totally fine. Anyway, I now use sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner! And you should all be applauding right now, but you're probably not because you have no idea what I am talking about. Let me tell you this, you are, more than likely, using shampoo that contains sulfate (sodium lauryl sulfate or it's cousin, sodium laureth sulfate). Sulfate is the cleaning agent and source of all the lovely suds you get when massaging shampoo into your scalp. The sudsier the better, right? Wrong. This cleaning agent is simultaneously clouding your shower walls with soap grime, thanks to the suds, and stripping your hair of all natural oils. Wanna know why your hair is frizzy? Well, now you do. Without those natural oils, your hair gets really dry and brittle and unhealthy, despite the amount of conditioner to lather on. I have had this problem for quite a long time, now. I have naturally curly hair which thirsts for moisture more than naturally straight hair, and my hair is fairly thin. Long story short: for years I have battled to find the right shampoo and conditioner for me. I have actually been interested in shampoo and conditioner ingredients for a long time; however, it is only recently that I have learned of the common hair-killing factor: sulfates, and what to do about them: get rid of them.

This morning I used my new sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner (Joico Smooth Cure) and already see a difference! My roots are a little heavy today simple because they are not all dried out, but the research I have done tells me that in a few days, my hair will absolutely love me again and I'm ready to put in the effort for lovely, salon-like locks. Get pumped and read this blog.

Heartache.

My heart aches for Madagascar today. Partly because of the cyclone that hit last night (US time). Part of our team is near the capitol, Antananarivo, and we are praying for their safety. But my heart aches mostly because I feel like I am missing the action, so to speak. I don't like missing the action. In fact, the paramedics were just here (I'm at work in the basement) to pick up a sick girl from our in-house school. I missed the whole thing and my office is right off the main hallway!

Anyway, I shouldn't be blogging from work, but I have to get settle my heart. I started researching Madagascar in my effort to find out more about the cyclone, then just got caught up. I want to know everything. I want to know what we're in for. Then, of course, I got on Facebook to encourage our team with prayer and started finding other teammates and reading their blogs. Our team is made up of, primarily, young families with young children: two families with three girls each, one family with one girl, and another family with two boys. All under the age of 15, most under the age of 10. I want to be there! I want to be serving with them, right now!

But see, this is where I get carried away and lose focus of our work here. My mind gets lost in "what will be" and I lose track of "what is". We have a lot to do here before we leave for Africa in October. I cannot mentally abandon what God has called me to do here, right now.

With that being said, I can get to work now.

For Sale.

Well, friends, it's true. Our townhouse is finally for sale!

Listed by Jenny Mateyoke of Rector-Hayden Realtors

Timeline.

It's true and absolutely needless to say: I'm terrible at keeping up with this blog. So, the long-short of the story is this: We had our final interview with the IMB on January 10. Our IMB advisor came to church and we met for 2 1/2 hours right in Chandler's office. Hands down, the most unique and invasive interview I have ever been a part of; our advisor asked us a whole range of questions concerning the autobiographies Chandler and I wrote back in October.

Fortunately, he concluded that we are not too terribly screwed up and gave us the verbal assurance that we should have no problem getting through the Board of Trustees in March. Once that is final, we are appointed as IMB missionaries in May, we leave for Virginia in late July for a two month IMB orientation, and leave for Africa in early October.

Oh, and we've been "job matched" to Ft. Dauphin, Madagascar with the Antandroy people. We have also made contact with our team; a young family from Texas. And we love them already. They landed in Madagascar in October of 2011, so they are exactly a year ahead of us in this process. Since October and until July 2012, they are in language school in Antsirabe. In July they will move to another place with our team leader and his family, then when we get through language school in July 2013, our team family will move with us to Ft. Dauphin. Complicated? Yes. Awesome? Yes!

Maybe what is not so awesome is all of the packing and preparing we are doing now. We are getting ready to put our town house "on the market", so Chandler and I have spent the past couple of weekends cleaning out closets and our catch all room, the office. As we communicate with our team family, they graciously offer their advice and wisdom: What to crate, what to leave behind, what to stock up on. They will never know how grateful we are for them, already. We cannot wait to meet them in person and do ministry alongside them.

There is always a silver lining: Our office has never been so... CLEAN as it is right now and we still have a little work to do! Who knew that room was so BIG! :)

How can you pray? Please pray that our town house sells quickly, even if it means we have to bunk up somewhere for a few months. Pray for us as we prepare ourselves emotionally and make decisions regarding...well, everything. We have absolutely no doubt that we are right in God's will, but pray that we will not get distracted; that we won't lose focus of our ministry to our students.

It Just...Clicked.

I don't know how it happened, except by God's grace, but yesterday, at the end of my patience rope with potty training, Waverly just "got it". It was just Thursday that I texted Chandler about my frustration with her not telling me when she needed to potty. We had hit a plateau. She was using the potty regularly with very few accidents, but not telling us when she needed to go. We were stuck at this step for a couple of months. I had reached my limit. It was time to start trying something new.

I had been feeling like the pull ups were becoming a hindrance to our progress because when she would have an accident, it wouldn't really phase her. I had also noticed that an accident in her panties caused a greater reaction. So Thursday afternoon, after Mom's Day Out, she stopped wearing pull-ups, even we we ran errands. I mentally prepared myself to handle "a situation" should she feel the need to pee in her panties. We had no problems.

Friday I put her in panties all day, even when she went to my mom's for the afternoon, even we spent some time with friends that evening. Nothing. No accidents. In fact, she was telling us when she needed to go! "Poo poo, Mommy!" And yes, that just means she needs to use the potty, not necessarily poop. Today has really been no different. She may have a teeny accident before she tells me to got the potty, but it's just enough to get her motivated.

Tomorrow will be a trial with church in the morning and the Super Bowl party in the evening, but we have to be consistent. Her poor Sunday school teachers...