SortaCrunchy

weekend snapshots: april 29th

spring mornings often include sitting on top of the cellar with a cup of coffee, listening to the birds under the shade of the catalpa tree.

Oh, April. You have been so friendly. I can't believe you are leaving us so quickly!

Here are a few of the things that have caught my eye lately:

Adriel of The Mommyhood Memos shared how creating something as simple as a birth kit can bring health and a best chance for a safe birth experience to the women of Papua New Guinea. Want to find out more how to be involved in this? Check out her information in Bloggers for Birth Kits: Helping Moms in Developing Nations by Reducing Maternal Mortality

My friend Rebecca does an incredible job with her blog Die, Food Dye! Earlier this month, she wrote a great reflection on how transitioning to a die-free home has not been perfectly straight. Baby steps towards change is something most all of us can relate to and I so appreciate Rebecca's honesty and transparent reflection on her journey: hindsight, regret, and this dye-free parent's learning curve

When I was growing up, my family had a Friday night ritual: we would spread out sleeping bags and pillows in my parents' bedroom and watch ABC's Friday night TV line-up. Gosh, my chest hurts with tangible fondness as I remember those safe, cozy, happy Friday nights spent as a family. You can imagine that Full House and all of its cast have a special place in my heart. I adored this article at Hello Giggles: Everything I Needed to Know, I Learned from DJ Tanner

When I first came across The Fake Pinterest on Twitter, it took me a little while to get it. But it wasn't long before I was choking on my Diet Coke mid-swallow over tweets like:

Get kids to try Middle Eastern food by cleverly replacing the felafel with chicken tenders and the tahini with ketchup.

Key lime cupcakes with pomegranate 5 Hour Energy baked into it for the quirky girl who takes her job seriously.

and

Beautiful porcelain "family tree" multipicture frame with detachable branches for those who become dead to you

Funny stuff (but not all family-friendly if you know what I mean and I think you do)

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I am so VERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRY excited to tell you that Simple Living Media launched a new channel this week: Simple Design! My dear, dear friend Arianne of To Think is To Create serves as editor and I am completely slayed to have been asked to be a contributor.

Speaking of Simple Living Media, all of the sites are running their annual Queen for a Day giveaway. Fantastic prizes abound!

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The Spirit-Led Parenting online book tour concluded this week with thoughtful posts at:

Keeper of the Home
Imperfect People
and
Simple Organized Living

This week, I'll be transitioning all book-related Facebook talk to the Spirit-Led Parenting Facebook page run by Laura and me. I know many SortaCrunchy followers are fans of the book, but not everyone is, and this will help keep everything streamlined. (that's the plan, anyway)

* * * * *

It's spring fever.  That is what the name of it is.  And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!  ~Mark Twain

Yes, Mr. Twain, I whole-heartedly agree. Here's to spring and all the good heartache it brings!

weekend snapshot: april 22nd

Remember Mama Duck from last week? AJ and I happened to be near when she left her nest to take a bath and get a snack, so I got as close as I could to snap this blurry picture of the eggs waiting to hatch. We can't wait to see how many make it and to get to watch baby ducklings. BABY! DUCKLINGS!

The book release party last night was so, so much fun. I can't even tell you.

Today, however, I woke up with a migraine and so this the snapshots for the week are short and sweet:

Cara Faus released an in-print version of her grain-free meal plans cookbook! If your family is doing the GAPS diet or you need grain-free meals for any reason, this family-tested, kid-approved cookbook will save you loads of time and energy in researching your options. I've tried many of Cara's recipes and they never disappoint.

Places in Between shared a recipe for coconut water soda. Perfect for the warming weather!

Both of my girls are Caesarean births, but neither of them were breech. At Under the Olive Branch, Sarah shared her birth story of how her plan for an all-natural childbirth experience turned into a planned Caesarean for her son who was breech. Such a peaceful and inspiring story.

Stops on the book tour included reviews at The Pilot's Wife and Nish Happens and a guest post from me at To Think is to Create.

Hope your weekend is restful and inspiring!

weekend snapshots: april 15th

A.J. have a new ritual in the afternoons - a leisurely walk around our part of town. Last week, we discovered tucked into quiet and dark of a tree trunk, a Mama Duck had built a nest and was in there, keeping her eggs warm. (Can you see her in there?)

I love spring.

A few things to share this lovely April afternoon:

The Spirit-Led Parenting book tour continues with reviews and giveaways going on at Love Well, Joy in this Journey, and The Stanley Clan. So many kind words. Oh, y'all. It's just too much.

Other pieces that gave me pause:

I cry in public sometimes. I just do. In a place as warm-hearted and friendly as Oklahoma is, people very naturally will stop to ask what's wrong? and are you okay? which makes it worse, you know? I was incredibly fascinated by this essay in the NYT about crying in public in NYC. It's a different thing altogther there: Look at Me, I'm Crying

This is a FANTASTIC article on the art of thrifting from Rookie - Thrifting: The Master Class. They explain everything you need to know for a marathon thrifting trip. I'm not a marathon-er, more of a pop-in-pop-out kind of thrifter, but they have some excellent tips no matter what your approach might be. (HT: friend Jessie)

Shawn Smucker on the The Joy that Accompanies Empty Pockets. I mean, I don't know what to say. Powerful read.

My friend Heather of the EO writes so extraordinarily incredible pieces. This one spoke RIGHT TO ME:

I’m writing this to myself but I’m also writing it to you, Mama. Every moment is holy, even if you don’t always have the energy or time to notice. It is this holiness that keeps you, wraps you up in truly living it, despite your trenches and yourself. Let’s stop over-analyzing it so much so we can more freely live it

-- you are already there

And ohhhhhh. OH! My mama heart. While I Nurse You To Sleep at The Mule made my heart ache. Oh, to have those days back again. (HT: Real Child Development on Facebook)

Hope your week is full of discovery and surprise and nests and words and new life.

weekend snapshots: march 25th

looks yummy, right?!

I make an amazing grilled cheese sandwich. Except when I'm trying to multitask the grilling of the sandwich, as is evidenced above. That's a pretty accurate view on my life right now. Far too little single-tasking and way too much charred grilled cheeses.

I have quite a bit to share today, so let's start with Facebook.

Sometime back, I wrote that I was NOT enjoying the Facebook timelines being forced on us. And now is the time when I go ahead and eat crow (mmmmm, maybe in a grilled cheese?) because I have finally switched over both my personal Facebook page and the SortaCrunchy Facebook page, and you know, I kinda like it.

The main thing that was causing me concern in switching to the timeline was choosing a cover photo for each. That's just ... I don't know. It's a lot of pressure for a Big Picture Thinker. I have access to photos back to 2005. How can I choose JUST! ONE! PHOTO! that sums up the entirety of who I am?! Or the fullness of what SortaCrunchy is?! It's so much pressure.

Well, enter a fantastic solution (suggested to me by my darling friend Emily - The Pilot's Wife): Statigram. This solution will only work for Instagram users, but if you are on IG, this is a great (free!) service. The first function I found to be extremely helpful is the Profile Cover feature (under the Promote tab). Statigram searched my Instagram feed and created a collage of my IG shots so that now instead of having to choose just one photo, I have a funky collage which illustrates all aspects of my life:

PRETTY COOL, RIGHT?

(If you don't like it, don't answer. I need this.)

Okay, so the other thing I love about Statigram (totally unrelated to Facebook) is that there are countless times when I'm skimming my IG feed and I think, "OH! I wish I could pin that!" Well, with Statigram, I can. Like how just now, I pinned this shot of purple filing cabinets to my home office Pinboard. Again with the pretty cool.

But, back to Facebook. I have now transferred the SortaCrunchy Facebook page to timeline. What do you think of the cover picture I chose for it? I gave this a LOT of thought. I feel like it pretty well evokes the tone and purpose of SortaCrunchy, though I am just now realizing it is perhaps too referential to a certain wildly popular book by a certain amazing woman whom I adore. Shoot. I'll probably change it.

Onward.

Here are the links that caught my eye this week:

Letters to My Daughter: On Being Beautiful by Alia at Narrow Paths to Higher Places. She wrote this letter to her daughter who turned seven last week. As the mama of a seven year old daughter, I can relate to every word of this. Plus, Alia is one of THE most beautiful people I've had the delight of meeting (yay, Blissdom!) and I pretty much just love her and her words:

Don’t be the hot girl, with the title bestowed by this world, be a girl who is beautiful with your identity bestowed by God. Because in God, you are always beautiful.

My heart says yes.

I fully admit to being a die-hard Swiffer fan (mopping for Lazy People!), but I've been a bit befuddled to come up with a reusable mop pad. Loved this solution: Modern Alternative Mama: How to Make Reusable Swiffer Mop Pads

Oh, Megan of Fried Okra and I go way back the way-back-stacks. Sister knows her food, and so this was an inspiring post as we head into grilling season (which starts now for normal people, and by normal, I mean people who don't use the grill year-round even in the freezing cold. Yes, I'm looking at you, Kyle): Fried Okra: 5 Great Grilling Ideas to Fan Your Outdoor Flame

Friends, the need for a yard sale is burgeoning (yes! burgeoning!) within me. I appreciated this funny but practical take on how to set up a successful one: Vintage Revivals: 5 Tips for a Killer Garage Sale

I hear so many people raving about this little gadget, include the one person I trust over anyone else when it comes to Lazy Beauty. Thoughts? Hollywood Housewife: Clarisonic Mia 2

Heartfelt prose that just might break your heart from Tamara Lunardo at Shawn Smucker's place: Mama for a Moment

AND FINALLY.

Think you're the only one who isn't seeing Hunger Games this weekend? Think you are the ONLY ONE who hasn't read the series? Fear not, for you are not. I will sit with you in the pop culture alienation.

For those who have seen it, I am going to blindly recommend Julie Clawson's e-book The Hunger Games and The Gospel: Bread, Circuses, and The Kingdom of God. No, I have not read it. No, I have not read the Hunger Games series. But Julie Clawson writes powerful insight with much thought and precision. I have to believe this is probably an incredible read.

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In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.  ~Margaret Atwood

Hope your nostrils are full of the good stuff this weekend, friends. I love you so.

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weekend snapshots: march 11

I want you to know that on Friday, I finally put on some real clothes again. And it felt wonderful. Also: no one (no one!) is more thrilled than I am that chambray has returned to the fashion scene. I love a great chambray shirt. I am feeling quite regretful about how many I've gotten rid of through the years. So many, oh so many chambray shirts have passed through my closet. I'm promising myself to hold on this one for a while.

Lots of notable things to share this week:

* Cupcakes, lemonade, and supporting imprisoned children in Africa. What's the connection? Missy invited Shelley of The Cupcake Kids to tell how on May 5th, you and your children can become involved in offering support to children imprisoned in remand homes by selling cupcakes and lemonade in your own community. Be sure to read the details here and considering registering to host your own Cupcake Kids sale.

* I absolutely adore what Jessica at Bohemian Bowmans wrote about why we thirty-somethings are so in love with grace: On Getting Older and Understanding Grace.

* In a post called Bobby Brady, sister ENFP Stephanie (Adventures in Babywearing) wrote:

I have a hard time distinguishing between what is important and what doesn't really matter at all, because to me, everything matters so much. Heck, I think inanimate objects have feeelings and so anyway it's hard, when I see hurt and beauty in absolutely everything that is in front of me, and my eyes are always darting toward who or what might be falling into the cracks.

I feel like that pretty much sums up what it's like to be an ENFP. Everything matters and so much hurt and beauty everywhere. It's as exhilarating as it is exhausting to live life with this perspective. She captures life so beautifully on a daily basis, but this particular post spoke to me in big, bold letters.

* Speaking of personality types and understanding them better, have you yet entered to win one of three giveaway copies of Adam McHugh's Introverts in the church? Hurry! Giveaway ends tomorrow!

* My friend Vanessa shared this article on Facebook and I know there are many of you who will be touched by these insights: 6 Things You Don't Know About a Special Needs Parent.

* Finally, for all of us grumbling about losing an hour of sleep today (to whom I say: but the DAYLIGHT! Oh, the DAYLIGHT!), I offer to you this:

Happy weekending, friends!

weekend snapshots? is it the weekend? where am I?

 

 

Anytime I was able to crawl out of our bedroom in the past week, my head nearly split down the middle in angst over what greeted me.

It was like balloons filled with cracker crumbs and dirty socks and opened bills exploded over the entirety of our home every hours. I would try to clean up a bit while I was able to be up and around for a few minutes, only to discover the exact same scene would greet me the next time I staggered around in a feverish haze of coughing and body aches.

I just deleted a whole bunch of other stuff about being sick. I'm sparing you that because: BORING. What it comes down to is this:

• thank you for the gracious and surprising and kind response to my drinking on the plane post
• thank you for your support over at Deeper Story on not being a jerk on Facebook this election season
• thank you for showing up with incredible opinions on our book cover choices
• if you are waiting on me for an email or basically anything else in life right now, thank you for extending grace to me. I don't deserve it, but I guess that is how grace works. I'll get to you as soon as I can

I'm once again taking on fat mum slim's daily photo challenge on Instagram. Day one for #marchphotoaday was UP and that is my UP picture above. My fever, it stayed up all week.

Day two: fruit

 

 

(we call these apple donuts)

Day three: neighborhood

Did not happen because now the AJ has the illness (which I am more than a little convinced is the flu) (which is not something an anti-flu-shot kook like myself likes to admit to) (but, yeah. this sucks). And I basically just held and comforted her all day.

If you have a moment to spare to whisper a little prayer for health and energy and staying-out-of-the-pit-of-despair for me, I would appreciate the heck out of you.

Help Me Pack for Blissdom!

So. That video? Is Blissdom '11. I'm sharing it today because I need a little help from you on what I should pack for Blissdom '12.

Because I leave in 9 days.

For Blissdom.

Interally, there is a lot of happy squee-ing and squealing going on right now.

I have to say, I really, really stressed out about what to wear to BlogHer '11. I bought a bunch of new clothes and didn't end up wearing most of them. I am NOT stressed out about what to wear to Blissdom, but I do want to hear your insights on what to pack.

So if you aren't familiar with Blissdom, watch that little video up there so you can get a feel for the look and the vibe of the conference and let's chat.

My Blissdom Schedule

Wednesday: travel day. I'll be driving my girls to the home of family members to stay for a while, and then driving to the airport. I leave OKC at 6 in the evening, change planes in Denver (because THAT makes sense!) and then arrive in Nashville at nearly 11 PM at night. I doubt I will see anyone when I arrive, so I'm planning to go super comfortable that day. Probably something like this:

 

Thursday day: I'm so looking forward to this day before the conference officially kicks off. I'm sure I will meet friends for lunch, shop the Blissdom Handmade Marketplace, and then the Newcomers Meeting is that afternoon.

This is the vintage top I found last week, and I'm kind of thinking of wearing it Thursday:

I'm just not sure what to wear with it. When wearing something vintage or retro, it's hard to find the balance between modern and costume-y. On the one hand, I could see this with a high-waisted pencil skirt - maybe in red? Or maybe some high-waisted jeans. I would looooooooove to pair it with these wide leg Jonas pants from Anthro, but I am not about to spend $100 on them:

 

 I might throw a fitted dark blazer over it to balance out the POW of the pattern, or maybe an open chambray shirt. So I'm still deliberating Thursday day. TOTALLY open to your thoughts here.

Thursday night: The official Kick-Off Reception is Thursday night, and the theme is Fiesta. I thought this dress might be nice:

I would belt it, of course, and my pink long-sleeve t-shirt under it and some tights and boots?

Friday day: This is the first day of the actual conference, so there will be lots of walking and lots of engaging in sessions. (I'm a Community Leader in the Writing Track.) I'm digging through past outfit posts, and I was thinking perhaps ...

Outfit A

or this:

Outfit B

or this:

Outfit C

Thoughts?

Friday night: Girls' Night Out. Okay, this is the big dress up night of Blissdom. Cute shoes, sparkly dresses, all that.

Here were some thoughts:

Outfit A: Black silk-blend turtle-neck sweater with gold-lace-over-black skirt. Bright colored tights and maybe some kind of statement necklace.

Outfit B: Much simpler dress, but dress it up with sparkly accessories and bright tights. It's so fun and easy to move in.

Outfit C: I found this Calvin Klein dress at Ross and bought it for BlogHer but didn't end up wearing it:

I thought about pairing it with a sparkly shrug like this one from Sears:

 

 

Thoughts?

Saturday day: More conference sessions. I think I will go with either Outfit A or B from the Friday night choices with more daytime appropriate styling. Or maybe I'll be re-inspired when I pick up my dry cleaning later this week!

Saturday night: Girls' Night In. This is the night to go comfy-cozy. I've heard some people wear nice dresses or sweater and jeans outfits (some come straight from dinner with friends to Girls' Night In) while others break out full-on pajamas. I'll be having dinner with Tsh and the other Simple Living Media contributors who will be at Blissdom that night. I'm planning on my trusty black Nike yoga pants and a t-shirt. I probably need to treat myself to some kind of owl t-shirt, don't you think? (I'll be shopping Etsy, of course).

I would so love to hear any thoughts you have. Thanks for humoring me as I scramble to get ready!