I Gave Up Gluten for Lent! (Pray for Me.)

photo by Joel Salazar/Flickr

Cool Mum gave up gluten as part of her diet overhaul when she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. After having Cool Newbie, she stuck with her diet and has been gluten-free (‘GF’ to those in the know) ever since. I’ve supported her decision, aside from a few (or many) complaints when it came time to pick what to get at a restaurant or grocery store.

Gluten-free is great…for her. She’s never pushed her diet upon me; I’ve been my pizza, cookie, and bread-loving self. But when we talked about what to give up for Lent, the question came up: What about gluten?  Continue reading

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How Do You Define Cool? Tell Us Your Story!

Everyone has their own definition of cool, but this principle is close to our hearts:

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. – Romans 12:2

We get a kick out of experimenting and doing things a little differently in life. From the WonderWash, to cutting our own hair, to giving our kid salads. The larger goal is not just to be different, but to be transformed by the one who made us. To actually live by what we tell ourselves we believe and value. What could be cooler than that?  Continue reading

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We Might Be the Luckiest People in the World

It all began in college. Cool Dad and I both loved living in the dorms. Getting to live with random friends and strangers, in a building full of hundreds of pre-career people your age, and the new freedom of being an adult on your own? Are you kidding me?!

Well, college ended and you still couldn’t drag us away. If we couldn’t attend college anymore, at least we could work there. And that is what we did. Our first apartment as a married couple was immediately across the street from campus, near some fraternity houses. When we looked out our window on a Saturday morning, we saw a few participants of the “walk of shame.” We could also walk to Leonardo’s By the Slice or stroll among the brick buildings or join the rush of students between classes anytime we wanted. And Cool Dad’s rock band was still in full swing.  Continue reading

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Our Valentine’s Day in Scranton (Sort Of)

We don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day in grand fashion since our wedding anniversary falls two weeks later. Yesterday was another simple celebration, but still plenty of fun.

We dropped the Cool Bros off with a friend and raced home for a lovely Middle Eastern dinner courtesy of our personal chef, Trader Joe. Cool Mum spread the ingredients on the table: a bag of pitas, tubs of tabouli and tahini sauce, and a package of falafels. A half-eaten container of hummus, fresh from the refrigerator, joined them.  Continue reading

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When Do You Say “I Love You?”: The Cool Parents’ Saga

Happy Valentine’s Day! V-Day holds a special place in my heart because it was when Cool Mum told me “I love you.” Too bad for me that I told her a few months before, and waited and waited for the response I hoped for. So the story won’t be one-sided, we’ll tell the tale together.

Cool Dad: It was October, and CM and I had been dating for two months. I graduated from the University of Florida in August with a degree in the exciting and lucrative field of Industrial and Systems Engineering. As any sensible engineering grad would do, instead of pursuing an exciting and lucrative job, I stayed in Gainesville to pursue adventures with my Christian rock band.

Back to October, CM and I were on a weekend retreat with our campus ministry, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, in Daytona Beach. My band led the worship music for the retreat. Though we had led worship for many weekend events in many beach towns along the Florida coast, this was a new experience for me: I had a girlfriend.  Continue reading

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