How We Met

Looking at our friendship from the perspective of an outsider, it would seem that it should've been inevitable. Unfortunately it took us a long time to realize it at first.

Our story doesn't really begin until September of 2005 but if we begin at the beginning like all good stories it would start in the year 2003. It was that year that Sondra joined the child development center (further known CDC) where we all eventually met. Sondra was all alone until September 2005 (not really, there are some other wonderful people at the CDC) when I joined her. We shared a suite and both closed our classrooms. Many laughs were shared and eventually I moved next door and joined Sondra's team, and our friendship grew deeper.

Fastforward until September 2006 and Nicole becomes employed at the CDC. Sadly Nicole was in a different area of the building and it took until September of 2007 when Sondra left our classroom and created a new team in a new classroom that we found out what a cool girl Nicole really was. Sondra and Nicole became fast friends, Sondra even being in Nicole's wedding. And because of my friendship with Sondra I was able to also cultivate a friendship with Nicole.

Now, the only person missing was Megan. Megan joined our company in June 2007 but didn't come to our CDC until 6 months later in December. Megan shared a suite with Nicole and Sondra and slowly their friendship developed as well. And once again, I became a friend by association.

And our friendships have been with strife and beat the odds. But the strife came from an outside source, who will remain nameless for the protection of the innocent :) Sadly enough, initially Sondra and I thought Nicole didn't like us and then, well I believe we thought the same thing about Megan. Sad but true. Eventually though, nature took its course and people that were destined to be friends, became friends.

It's to be anticipated that 4 women, beautiful inside and out (at least to me) who share many common interests would become friends. But like all great (love) stories, love at first sight is flighting while relationships that build slowly grow into something remarkable.

True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shock of adveristy before its entitled to the appelation.

-George Washington

Eventually Nicole left the CDC to become a librarian (one of our common interests is an insatiable passion for books and reading) and returned once a week or so to help out. And then the arrival of my son turned me into a stay-at-home-mom. Surprisingly, removing half of us from the CDC didn't deter our friendship. If anything, its made it stronger. Because now, rather than seeing each other daily (though Sondra and Megan are lucky enough to do that) we have to work to see one another, call each other on the phone or send emails. And the effort to do that, makes our friendship that much sweeter.

Now, our friendship will be documented here; depicting our exploits in learning to live a greener, more natural life and of course chronicling our ever changing lives and friendship.

A friend may be well reckoned the masterpiece of nature.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Meet Meredith

I can easily be defined by my green-living, home-cooking, natural cleaning, former soccer playing - now fervent soccer watcher, cloth diapering, outdoor loving, adoption advocating, Lupus and Graves disease fighter, book-reading, pro-life believing, religious thinking, lover of life ways.

But I'd rather be identified by my relationships: devoted friend, faithful family member, mama to Gabe, wife to Matt and daughter of the King.

I'm Meredith and my husband and I have been married for almost 4 years. We have a wonderful baby boy, Gabriel, who's adoption is almost finalized and official, although there's no way he could be more officially ours. He's the joy of our lives and the second biggest giver of unconditional love I've ever encountered. My husband and I were unable to concieve naturally and began a journey of adoption. This journey was not easy but is anything worthwhile ever easy? And although it wasn't easy it opened my eyes and heart to many different things, one of which is the almost 200 million orphans in the world, some of which we're hoping to add to our family through more adoptions. Adoption has also caused me to rely on other people, and furthered my relationship with many - especially the 3 other lovely ladies authoring this blog.

I am so excited to be joining 3 of my favorites in this adventure we call life; hoping the path we're taking will not only bring our relationships closer but aslo help us all to live a greener, more natural life while saving a little money along the way.

I hope you'll enjoy reading of our exploits and eventually love these girls as much as I do!

Meet Megan

Hello! I guess it's my turn to introduce myself. My husband, Steve, and I have been married for almost three years; we constantly learn more about each other and delve deeper into our relationship together. We also try to daily remember the reasons we first fell in love, though not always easy, this practice has proved ever-rewarding. I received my Bachelors in Biblical and Theological Studies from a thoroughly Christian college, teach at an Early Childhood Education Center, recently plugged into a fabulous local church, adore reading books of all kinds, love visits and conversations with friends and family, and am wonderfully excited to have a part in adventuring into the lands of homemade, handmade items.

Since childhood I have enjoyed making things with my own hands, always fashioning some object or other out of tape, fabric, beads, and anything else I could get my hands on. Venturing into the world of handmade items that are of practical use has infinite appeal to me. Making my home a more environmentally friendly, less chemical filled place is one of my foremost desires. I look forward to endless creations with my three friends as we travel our common path!

Meet Sondra

Hi! I am so excited to be embarking on this blog with some of my favorite people. I have to say, the idea of the blog is something that was hatched only recently. Since then, the four of us have been enjoying every minute of planning what to post on here. I really look forward to trying new things with some of my best friends. Some of the DIY projects we'll be undertaking are things I wouldn't necessarily attempt without the help of some amazing cohorts! I think what's inspired me about Going Green and embracing The Basics is the fact that it seems more and more attainable, especially when going for it in the company of friends. For the past several years I have been an avid cook, and most nights my husband Carl and I enjoy making our own dinners from scratch in the kitchen. When Megan, Meredith and Nicole and I discovered that we could also make soap, our own household cleaners, and a variety of other money-savers to help us be more earth-friendly, I thought: "I can do this." Sure, the prospect of working with lye doesn't make me feel sedate and tranquil, but after all, we just have to follow a recipe, right? In addition to trying out these new ways of going green, I also look forward to posting, along with Megan, Meredith and Nicole, different recipes, restaurant finds, and great places to buy amazing handmade items. This is going to be so fun!!

A little about me: I graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College with a degree in English and, as you might suppose, I love to read! In fact, you can frequently find the four of us passing along great books to each other. It's also not unusual to find a book that I originally bought to be sitting on Meredith's bookshelf in her house, or on Megan's coffee table. Our books cycle in and out of the four of our lives with regularity and fluidity; it's one of the many things I love about being friends with these three lovely ladies! I've been married to my husband Carl since May of 2004. We met in the summer of 2000, so this year we will have been together for 10 years! My life is so fun and so hilarious with him. I really hit the jackpot on that count! I also have the best family, the majority of whom live just a short drive away. Speaking of which, I live roughly 5 minutes away from Nicole, 15 from Meredith, and I get to see Megan everyday at work. Does it get any better than that?

"Let the world slip, we shall never be younger." ~Shakespeare

Meet Nicole

Hi! Thank you so much for checking out our blog – I am very excited to be a part of this and can’t wait to see where it takes the four of us in the future.
I consider myself to be a blessed person because of the wonderful group of people in my life (both family and friends). I am head over heels in love with my husband, Chris, we have been married a little over a year and I am just loving every single second of married life. We have recently purchased our first house and are having a fun time renovating and decorating it.
Currently, I am working at a public library and am pursuing my master’s degree in Library and Information Science (I will graduate this year, finally!). I have a passion for children’s and young adult’s literature and am really loving working in a public library.

There are quite a few reasons why I want to get back to basics, go green, and create more homemade, handmade things. First of all, why not?! I am always interested in ways to save money and resources. Chris and I would like to start a family soon (we already have one very chubby and loveable dog named Abby) and I would love to learn how to create a healthy, safe and environmentally friendly household. Another reason is to spend time with these three lovely ladies I can proudly call my friends – I am excited to see how our friendship will grow and where our new blog life will take us.

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities.” Dr. Seuss