#GivingTuesday : Barnraiser--Kickstarter for farmers

#GivingTuesday may almost be over, but it seems like the perfect day to share one of the things that has been bookmarked on my computer for weeks, because I knew I wanted to share it with all of you. Projects like this are always near and dear to my heart, and this is one that needs more eyes, voices and support behind it. 

An email from Barnraiser showed up in my inbox a few weeks ago and I was immediately intrigued. The best way for me to sum up Barnraiser is that it is like Kickstarter for farmers, artisans, educators and community projects that are aimed at helping to reshape our food system. It's for anyone wanting to make a difference in the way we farm and the way we eat. 

Just a quick perusal of the site and you'll find projects like heirloom fruit orchards and classroom gardens, a bakery's wood-burning oven, a farm's micro-creamery, sustainable bees and responsible chicken farms, looking for financial support to get their projects and ideas up and running. 

Secretly, I've always had lofty dreams of ways I'd love to dig my hands into agricultural and community-based ideas. But one of the things always holding me back was "where would I ever come up with the money." 

It's projects like Barnraiser that are opening the doors for these ideas that are making a difference and making changes in our local resources, small farming communities and the food that ends up on our tables. 

Take a moment on this #GivingTuesday (or Wednesday or Thursday or any day!) to check out this Barnraiser. Trust me, you'll be inspired by these people.

**Also note: Anytime you make a pledge on Barnraiser you can elect to gift your reward to someone else...what a cool way to give this holiday season.**

Power Balls : A healthier after-school snack

After tiring of seeing my kids subsist on nutella and toast as their go-to "wander into the kitchen looking for something easy to make" after school (and in our case between school) snack, I decided to revisit an old favorite recipe I haven't made in quite awhile. 

This recipe for power balls was actually the first thing I had in-print with the beloved and sadly long-gone Wondertime magazine. The original name for this treat, and what my family calls them--is"fiber balls", but I think we can all agree that name is mildly unappealing. Of course the fancy photographers at Wondertime were able to seriously cute-ify this handful of yumminess, but I think from the ingredient list, you'll get the idea. 

What I love about this recipe is that it's packed with good things, has tons of flexibility and is yummy enough that my kids will gobble them up. They are the perfect thing to toss in lunch boxes, have in the fridge for a quick after-school snack, or help everyone make it from lunch until dinner. 

And, they have replaced the nutella-binge going on this house. 

Though I forgot to count when I made them yesterday, you'll get a good 3-dozen from this recipe, I believe. Wrapped tightly, they freeze well if you want to store some away for another time. I like to use my small cookie dough scooper to get even-sized balls and then roll them by hand. 

So freshen up the snack list or the lunchbox staples and add these to the list! 

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When the going gets tough: letting go of perfect

I've decided that when making a commitment to better health, fitness, eating...the hard part isn't starting. God knows in the past few years I've "started" many, many times. The hard part comes when you hit a bump in the road, when you lose some of your motivation, when you're busy, when life gets chaotic. That's when it gets hard because it tests whether you're going to keep on going, or give up.

I feel like since late summer, early fall--I've been in the hard part. I've been trying to figure out where this time for myself--exercising, planning my meals (that are oftentimes different from my family's meals), getting to the gym--fits in to a suddenly overwhelming family schedule. 

One of the first things to throw me off the rails is chaos and lack of a smooth, low-key schedule. (*cue maniacal laughter*). That's pretty much my whole life right now. And I've discovered something about myself along the way--I struggle when I'm not doing this whole journey perfectly. 

And while that might sound like a wonderful thing, it can be really defeating when you mess up. There were days this summer where I wouldn't 'stick to the plan' and so instead of going to the gym or checking in the with nutritionists who are helping me on this journey, I'd say to myself, "I can't go in there until I'm back on track. Until everything is perfect again." Turns out if you wait for 'perfect', it's not going to happen. 

So I had to adopt a better attitude. Not sticking to it for a meal or a day or a moment, doesn't screw up everything. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, for pete's sake. 

The good news is, I'm back at it. I'm back on track and feeling good. (Could this possibly be why I'm writing about it again? I may be guilty.) The other good news is that even during this "bump", I still never lost sight of the big goal. I knew what I was going through was a temporary re-adjustment but I still felt extremely committed to the long-term. And I still know this time it's gonna work. I don't want to lose what I've lost and worked so hard for. Apparently, I just had to climb this hill first.

As always, thanks to so many of you who have emailed, commented and lamented, and who have said, you're in the trenches, too. Whatever the goal, I hope we all can help push and encourage each other along the way. 

More soon...xo.

More than just clean teeth

My girls and I were asked by our friends from Social Stars to take a look at these products from LISTERINE® SMARTRINSE. We were sent some goodies and tested out the products as part of our nightly bedtime routine. My promise to my blog readers is that I will only share sponsored posts on this blog if they are for products I would recommend to my friends, purchase myself, and have some connection to something I am learning, working on, teaching my children or care deeply about. So if I'm sharing it here, know that it's because I think it's worthy of sharing.

I went to the dentist last week and I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't been in the dentist chair in quite awhile. Long enough that I couldn't remember the last time, and had to put a big fat question mark on that part of my new patient form. It's the classic "no dental insurance, put the kids' teeth before my own teeth" scenario. Thankfully, through the power of good genetics and good brushing, my thirty-eight year streak of no cavities and no fillings has continued.  And the dentist office was quick to make sure I would be back in six months and keep up with my healthy teeth. I promised I would.

I have to admit that in my current commitment to better health, my eyes have been opened to the power that lies in taking care of all of oneself. 

In my blissful youth, I was the kid who never had to worry about her skin. But the bliss of those days is apparently over as I've hit my late thirties. And I have adopted a Skin Care Routine. As crazy as it may sound, taking care of my skin has been an eye-opening experience. Those five minutes I take at the end of the evening to pull back my hair, wash my face and put on a little magical cream feel so important. Not only the fact that it's good for my skin, it's been good for my soul as well. 

Cavities are SCARY! 

Setting aside that time, caring enough about myself to take care of myself, and take time for myself? That's so important--for health, for heart, for self-esteem, for outlook on life. I know, I know, it seems like a bit much to get from a five-minute face washing, but I am convinced that these healthful habits are important and set a pattern for healthful habits in other areas of my life. 

It's this same intention--the importance of caring for yourself--that I'm trying to teach my girls. While we're not needing to worry about blemishes and zit creams yet, we can start off on this same path by taking good care of our teeth. 

Lately, that's meant not only standing in front of the mirror brushing, but also adding more to that nighttime routine, including flossing and using mouthwash. I want my girls to know that taking care of their teeth isn't just about cavity prevention, it's also about taking care of the whole self. It's about setting aside time to establish healthy habits--something that will serve them well in all areas of their lives. 

The girls recently got a fun package in the mail full of teeth-care-taking goodies from the folks at Listerine. Now, if you live in a house of girls, you can probably guess there's a little bit of excitement over pink mouthwash, purple dental floss and cool toothbrush holders that suction cup to your mirror. 

It was the perfect way to continue to encourage the point I am trying to make--that caring for teeth is more than just clean teeth. But in the meantime, while they're swirling and spitting and I'm feeling good about them taking care of their bodies--the LISTERINE® SMARTRINSE is cleaning up the gunk their toothbrushing didn't get, strengthening their teeth and taking care of their whole mouth. Because a happy mouth is a smiley mouth. And who wouldn't want to see this crazy smile?

Want to know more about LISTERINE SMARTRINSE®? It helps prevent kids' cavities, and strengthens teeth 99% better than brushing alone. It cleans in places the toothbrush cannot reach (and c'mon we know kids aren't the best brushers), and provides up to 12 hours of cavity protection. And my girls say the pink is the best. Sorry boys. 

Short list after a long break

I'm sitting in my non-air-conditioned "office" and sweating-- even though I have a fan strategically placed on the desk beside me, blowing directly onto the side of my head. But I'm not complaining. Because outside in the barn are 20 tweens filming the 'death scene' from Romeo and Juliet in full costumes of varying degrees of polyester, velvet, nylon tights, cloaks and capes. I'm sitting here contemplating what would be the best refreshment for those poor kiddos, aside from dunking their heads in a bucket of ice water. I'm leaning towards lemonade if I can scrounge up enough plastic cups to go around. 

I've disappeared. Yes, this summer is bound and determined to not allow me to catch my breath. Apparently we've decided to squeeze every ounce of life out of it. And out of me.

So, to ease back in to this little blog of mine, I'm coming here today with a list. Because I love lists and that's the easiest way to catch up on a whole lotta stuff that needs catching up.

1. Shakespeare. What are those tweens doing in our barn in shakespearean dress? This is Emma's Shakespeare class that has been studying Romeo + Juliet during the school year and is now finishing up the filming of final scenes. Much of it has been filmed here at Woodlawn--which I'm told has required many takes thanks to noisy sheep and barn cats that like to jump into scenes at random moments.

2. It's almost time for the county fair! This time next week we'll be unpacking sheep, cakes, cookies, photographs, artwork, and crafts at the fairgrounds. On my to-do list today is to make a to-do list. For the fair. I'm not feeling stressed yet, so I figured making a list would help me get my rear in gear aka start to feel stressed. 

3. Emma rode her horse in an event--dressage, cross country and stadium jumping. Her second "official" event and just like last time, she got booted off her horse on the 4th jump, an automatic disqualification. Thankfully this time, there were less tears and more laughter. Maybe we'll try again in the fall.

4. Emma's going to school next year! This requires its own post, but this is HUGE news around here. A process we've been agonizing over for the past few months. But we're all so excited. My first homeschooler to leave the nest. 

5. We're down to 2 chickens. We have a fox. A fox who must stalk our chickens from the bushes. Not minutes after we let them out, he was racing through the front yard in broad daylight trying to snatch one up. We all screamed at him. The dog chased him. And the chickens are on house arrest. 

6. Willie sleeps through the night. Praise the Lord. He has also discovered the muddy hole in the woods behind the house and shows up at the porch door like this, all the time, wondering why I won't let him in.

7. The girls went to camp. Sadly, one camp home early with a migraine. We'll try again next year.

8. I've lost 20 pounds. And 18 inches. Woohoo. Still going strong on the healthy-front. A few bumps in the road from summer chaos, but feeling good!

I've missed you all. Hope summer is treating you sweetly. More soon. xo.