Word Cloud

For the last day of the WordCount 2013 Blogathon, we were asked to create a word cloud. I've never heard of these before, but they are pretty awesome.

I submited the blog webpage and the program created the following image.

Haiku

Today is the haiku challenge for the blogathon participants. I think I wrote a haiku as part of a poetry unit in elementary school but that's about all my haiku skills consist of, so I gave it my best shot.

I wrote this for Emma in the hopes that she would actually go to sleep.

Nighttime

Nighttime is here now
Close your eyes sweet child; sleep, sleep
Morning brings new fun

Thrifty Home Improvement - Part 1

Thrifty Thursday is usually devoted to saving money on groceries.  This week & next week I'm writing about saving money on home improvement.

This week is about knowing your limits. It's one thing to paint your own home. It's another to rewire your home or mess with your plumbing. If you're not trained in electrical or plumbing, use caution with DIY projects and consider hiring help.

We recently replaced our guest bathroom toilet, installed a diaper sprayer and replaced our shower head. We hired a plumber to install the toilet and asked him about the other two projects. Since he was already here and they didn't take much time, he just did it for us at no additional cost. Awesome!

There's often a minimum time charged for maintenance jobs so even if your project takes less time you're charged the full amount, so be sure to use your time. Plan for all your plumbing and electrical projects to be done at once. This way you only pay for one service call.

Next week I'll be talking about saving money on windows and exterior paint.

Blog Swap - A Day with my 10 month old ~ routines and flexibility

Hi, My name is Maria. Jessica and I both take part in a Blogathon (like a marathon for bloggers) this month. We were encouraged to write a guest post for another blog. We thought that we have a lot in common, since our girls are the same age. So we decided to write guest posts for each other.

So, who am I? I'm a Swedish girl, living in California. (My husband is born in Sacramento.) In a few words - I´m one busy Lady! I'm a Wife, Mother, Photographer, Horse trainer, Preschool Teacher, Baker and Author of http://discoveringranchlife.com. My husband calls me Queen of The Ranch. I dedicate most of my time to my family (humans and animals) at Northcutt Ranch. Horses have been my biggest passion since I was two years old. We have 15 horses, 13 of them are rescues.

A day with my 10 months old ~ routines and flexibility

When I sat down to write about a "typical" day in my life with Hayley I started to laugh. "Typical day"?? Hahaha, Hayley and I have traveled a lot lately. Her dads work had taken him to different places in California, and in order to see him (which we are addicted to!) we choose to tag along. Being on the road makes every day different, but I realized that we do have some routines that we always stick to, wherever we are. Routines that contributes to a happy, healthy life. I'm going to write about those. Our mornings usually looks the same.

Hayley wakes up around 5.30. I nurse her in bed for about one hour. She falls back asleep.
Mama gets up, while Hayley and daddy stay in bed. I eat a light breakfast - a glass of water, some Greek yoghurt and a fruit. After that I have some "baby free time". Often the only "baby free time I have during the day. If I'm lucky I have between 1-2 hours for myself. That's the best time of the day for me to get some exercise. I either take the dogs for a long walk, or exercise a horse (depending on if we're with our horses, or traveling.)

When I get home Hayley wakes up within minutes, always starving. The first thing I do when I come home (after feeding the dogs) is to prepare a "finger food breakfast for Hayley". I make a sandwich that I cut in small pieces, along with a fruit (a banana, apple, watermelon, strawberries etc.), some raisins and a yoghurt smoothie in a bottle. When Hayley wakes up I change her diaper and place her in her chair with her food. That gives me time to take a shower while she's eating breakfast with daddy. After my shower I join them for a cup of coffee. It's first after that our day really begins

No day looks exactly the same, but they have some things in common; a lot of time outdoors, playing with Lego, Cooking, taking care of animals, Swedish songs (I dedicate 1-2 hours every day to teach Hayley my native language) and reading books/telling stories.

Hayley is a happy baby that loves being outdoors. She loves to go for long walks and explore new things. Despite her small size, she eats like an elephant. She absolutely loves food. Being a mom to a ten month old is intense, fun, challenging and a lot of fun. We have a tendency to get ourselves into a lot of adventures. I would love for you to follow us http://discoveringranchlife.com.

Be well, Maria

You can find Jessica's post about life with Emma on the Discovering Ranch Life blog http://discoveringranchlife.com/2013/06/12/guest-post-by-jessica-dunn/

Favorite sides: Grilled Apple & Pear Salad and Roasted Kale with Sea Salt

Here are a two of my favorite side dish recipes.

Grilled Apple & Pear Salad

Ingredients:
4 Firm Fuji Apples
2 Firm Bartlett Pears,
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Small Box Baby Arugala
1 Cup Chopped Pecans (toasted)
¼ Cup Chopped Chives

Dressing
8oz Orange Juice
½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Kosher Salt

Instructions:
Cut apples & pears into wedges, about 8 each.
Toss fruit in Extra Virgin Olive Oil & season with salt & pepper.
Grill on a Hot Grill Pan or outdoor Grill for about 4 minutes per side.
Place grilled fruit on a plate & hold in the fridge until cold.
Toast pecans in a pan over low heat until they are evenly browned & fragrant.
Cool the nuts on a plate.

For the Dressing:
Simmer the Orange Juice until it has reduced by less than half.

 

Roasted Kale with Sea Salt

• 4 cups firmly-packed kale
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. good-quality sea salt, such as Maldon or Cyprus Flake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wash and trim the kale: Peel off the tough stems by folding the kale leaves in half like a book and stripping the stems off. Toss with extra virgin olive oil. Roast for five minutes. Turn kale over. Roast another 7 to 10 minutes until kale turns brown and becomes paper thin and brittle. Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve immediately.

Patience

I have been struggling with patience a lot recently. I'm tired physically and emotionally. 10 1/2 months of inconsistent sleep can push anyone's patience. I decided to take a break from my Bible study and just focus on passages about patience. Here's my favorite:

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.

 

Blog Challenge Day 28: What's Your Guilty Pleasure

Eating Girl Scout cookies in bed while watching reruns of Fraiser and the Golden Girls. It really is the perfect ending to a day.

I don't eat the entire box, but I could because they're so good. I enjoy 2 or 3 while watching TV and relaxing. I'm lucky that my in-laws love having slumber parties with Emma every couple of weeks so I actually get to catch up on sleep and enjoy a little down time. Emma is a total night owl and doesn't sleep much so I'm running on empty most days.

Blog Challenge Day 27: List 3 online friends you've never met in real life, but hope to soon

I always told myself that I wasn't going to become friends with strangers on facebook, but I couldn't help it. I joined some cloth diaper and attachment parenting groups and I've found that I have a lot in common with the women in these groups, sometimes more so then people I know in real life. It's going to be hard for me to pick just 3 people.

1. Nicole Gutermann (Fluffy Bum - Green Home). I met Nicole through a Kissed by the Moon fan page. She makes fleece soaks and I wanted to try them, we got to chatting and I realized that we have a lot in common and we've become friends through our common interests. I don't think more than 2 days go by without us chatting or sending a message to each other.

2. Tami Nelson. Tami and her husband own Kissed by the Moon. She was a great source of information for me when I was research cloth and we are always impressed with her customer service. I'm actually under strict orders from Robert that if we can't buy it from KBTM then we don't need it. I'm looking forward to finally meeting Tami at the Sacramento Great Cloth Diaper Change on April 20th. Tami has been nice enough to help my promote my new business with Initials, Inc by asking me to be a part of KBTM's 10,000 fan facebook celebration. She has also agreed to let me be a vendor at the GCDC.

3.Tam McKinney Northcutt. Tam and my mom became friends through their fibromyalgia online support groups. Tam has become like family to us even though we have never met face to face.

This list could go on and on.

Blog Challenge Day 26: What's Your Favorite Food

You're going to laugh because if you've been reading this blog and following my facebook page, you know that I love to cook. My favorite meal doesn't require cooking. I LOVE LOVE LOVE cereal. My current obsession is Cinnamon Chex with rice milk (we're a non-dairy house). I also love Corn Pops and Fruit Loops, but those can't stay in the house because I'll eat the entire box.

Blog Challenge Day 25: describe your location

I'm in bed with Emma.  She's using me ss a pillow since she's sick and having difficulty sleeping unless she's inclined.  I want to move her so I can snuggle under the covers and get some rest, but I won't.  I can't risk waking her.

Blog Challenge day 23: do you have a hobby?

I love crafts. I'm learning to sew. I love scrapbooking. I've tried knitting several times. I'm currently making a touch and feel book for Emma. I don't have much free time for hobbies, but I try to get crafty every few weeks.

Blog Challenge day 22: what do you do when you're home alone?

Home alone? What's that?

I think the last time I was home alone was a weekday.  Robert was at work and Emma was at grandma and grandpa's.  I spent the day in bed sleeping because I was sick.

The time before that Emma was at grandma and grandpa's so I could sleep. She had been up for 17 hours straight and I had been up for 21 hours. She was having a horrible reflux episode and would only sleep when she was held. I was so exhausted I could hardly walk. Thankfully Robert's parents live close and offered to take her.

The last time I was home alone and didn't use the time to sleep was a few days before Christmas.  We were hosting Christmas so Emma spent 3 hours with grandma while I cleaned, decorated and planned/prepped food.

If I could plan my perfect day home alone, I'd plan my LA Sunday. When I lived in LA, I had great Sundays to relax. I spent Saturdays catching up on paperwork,  washing laundry,  and cleaning my apartment.  Sundays were stress free. I'd throw dinner in the crockpot before going to church. I'd come home and change into comfy clothes and spend the afternoon watching movies, reading books for fun, or lounging by the pool.  I don't miss much about LA, but I do miss the pool at my apartment and my lazy Sundays.

Blog Challenge Day 21: What's Your Biggest Fear?

Before getting pregnant my answer to this question was one word: failure.

While pregnant this changed to three words: losing our baby.

At the end of the pregnancy it changed to three words: dying during delivery.

At the end of delivery when Emma's heart rate dropped multiple times and she went into distress as a NICU team was rushed into our room, this quickly changed to five words: not taking our baby home.

Now my biggest fear is four letters: SIDS.

Emma is 8 months old today. She still sleeps in a pack n play next to our bed. She nurses once or twice a night. I wake every couple of hours and listen to her snore and breathe. If she's having a quiet sleep night, I watch carefully as she breathes in and out. It's 3am now and I'm awake listening to the gentle rhythm of her breathing quietly in and out. As much as I long for a good night's sleep and for her to sleep through the night, I know that I will still wake to listen and watch.

Blog challenge day 20: what do you collect?

I collect rare and old books.  I only have a handful since they can cost a pretty penny. I love finding old books,  especially first editions.

Blog challenge day 19: 5 blogs you read regularly and why

I can't really answer this question. I have blogs that I follow, but I can't find time to read them regularly.  All the blogs I follow are on the sidebar though. I really do need to find time to read more regularly.

Blog Challenge day 18: where are you the happiest?

That's an easy question to answer. Anywhere,  as long as I'm with my husband and daughter.

Blog Challenge Day 17: why & when did you start blogging?

I started blogging about 18-20 months ago. My friend Laura encouraged me to write a blog about all my thrifty grocery tips and recipes. I added cloth diapers and natural parenting as I became a "crunchy" parent.

Blog Challenge Day 16: What's your biggest accomplishment?

The intellectual part of me says completing graduate school. At one time, that was my biggest accomplishment.  I worked hard for two years completing prerequisites to get into my top choice program and worked my butt off for two years in grad school.  My heart says this isn't my biggest accomplishment.

My biggest accomplishment is sound asleep next to me. She's approximately 15 pounds,  a little over 2 feet tall, and is almost 8 months old. My daughter is my biggest accomplishment. Surviving pregnancy and childbirth is my biggest accomplishment.

I was incredibly sick for the first 24-26 weeks of my pregnancy.  There were times I couldn't even keep water down. I was put on modified bed rest at 30 weeks because of back spasms and contractions.  By 34 weeks I wasn't supposed to be more than an hour from the hospital.

Contractions started and stopped many times before my due date. My due date came and went. My doctor decided to induce 8 days after my due date. My labor and delivery didn't go as planned.  It ended with 10 additional people in the delivery room trying to help get Emma out in time as her heart rate kept dropping. The NICU team was waiting in the corner to examine her as soon as she was delivered.  Somehow, with all our complications,  she was perfect. 

The fact that we survived,  and by we I mean my entire family, and that we continue to survive each new medical battle is my greatest accomplishment. 

Blog challenge day 15: list 10 things that make you awesome

I'm kind and caring.
I love my family.
I'm a good friend.
I'm funny.
I like to have fun.
I'm a great cook.
I'm a good mom.
I put others first.
I'm a good listener.
I like to help others.

Blog Challenge Day 14: What's on Your iPod?

I have a highly eclectic taste in music, so my iPod has a huge variety of music on it. Over 3500 songs. That's way too boring to post. Seriously, who would read all of that? Instead, here's my current favorite playlist:

Addicted, Saving Abel
All Over You, The spill Canvas
Blah Blah Blah, Ke$ha
Blister in the Sun, Violent Femmes
Boy Like Me, Jessica Harp
The Boys of Summer, The Ataris
Break Your Heart, Taoi Cruz & Ludacris
Clothes off!!, Gym Class Heroes
Comedown, Bush
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Miranda Lambert
Gimmie That Girl, Joe Nichols
Good Girls Go Bad, Cobra Startship
Good Little Girls, Blue County
Hanginaround, Counting Crows
Hell on the Heart, Whitesnake
Hide and Seek, The Band Perry
Hot in Herre, Nelly
How Will I Know, Whitney Houston
I Don't Wanna Be In Love, Good Charlotte
I Like It, Enrique Iglesias (feat. Pitbull)
Jungle Love, Steve Miller Band
Lookin' for a Good Time, Lady Antebellum
Love Drunk, Boys Like Girls
Lover, Lover, Jerrod Niemann
Misery Business Paramore
No One Like You, Scorpions
Our Kind of Love, Lady Antebellum
Paralyzer, Finger Eleven
Poison, Bell Biv DeVoe
Read Between the Lines, KSM
Saturday Night, The Thrills
The Seed, The Roots
Shake It, Metro Station
She's Country, Jason Aldean
Soda Jerk, Buffalo Tom
 Sorry Sorry, Rooney
Spaceship, Puddle of Mudd
Starstrukk, 3OH!3
Stay With You, Goo Goo Dolls
Stranded, Plumb
Stronger, Kanye West
Such Great Heights, The Postal Service
Superstar, Lupe Fiasco
Sweat, Inner Circle
Talk Dirty To Me, Poison
Tell Me Something I Don't Know, The Thrills
That's How Country Boys Roll, Billy Currington
This Afternoon, Nickelback
Welcome to the Jungle, Guns N' Roses
World Spins Madly On, The Weepies
You Keep Me Hangin' On, Kim Wilde