Are you struggling to get everything you want to get done? There is so much to do and working out keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the list. You have blog posts to write, kids to transport, Instagram worthy pictures to take, dinner to make and more. These ten ways to workout without leaving the house will help you get a little workout in no matter what your day looks like. READ MORE…
What is your favorite drawing supply? Do you have a lot of pencils, pens, or markers, paint brushes? I struggled with how to keep my large colored pencil collection organized so I made my own holder. This type of holder could be used to keep your colors sorted or hold a variety of supplies. Customizing it to your space and taste is also possible. Get creative and get organized! READ MORE…
A turquoise door, people. This girl finally got her turquoise door!
It’s amazing how fast two years flies. A few weeks ago, The Hubs noted that the following day would mark two years to the date since we moved in our house.
The next day, I drove into the driveway after work and gazed at the amazing, bright and happy turquoise door that greeted me from the front porch. My sweet Hubs had spent his day off painting the turquoise door I had been dreaming of since that day our realtor had taken us to see this house. READ MORE…
By Rhonda Franz
It’s a living. A different living than the normal, home-every-day, 9-to-5. The pilot is home, the pilot is gone. And life still rolls: school, sickness, work, kids, meals.
All the Stuff of Life.
My husband’s trips away used to make me anxious. Ten years down the road of parenthood, I manage much better now. I put less pressure on myself to keep up, and try to make the time as enjoyable with my kids as possible.
Refuge. A safe place where you can breathe a sigh of relief from the storm. A shelter or protection from danger or distress.
Often we need protection from the storms we face in daily life, a place where we can regroup in the whirlwind of unexpected trials. A place where we can once again find hope. READ MORE…
Last year when my son was completing his homeschool lessons for 3rd grade, he often worked in a geography workbook about the United States. This workbook was a really great introduction to the 50 states and it actually got him interested in traveling. Specifically, it made him want to travel to the states bordering Arkansas. So I agreed that we could start visiting at least one of these states each year. We decided that we would start with Tennessee. Memphis, Tennessee to be exact since it is the closest major city of a bordering state to us since we live in Central Arkansas.
Once we decided on the state and city next we had to pick something to do. I love museums and since we were planning this trip so our kids could explore a bordering state. I thought the Children’s Museum of Memphis would be a great place to visit. When I visited the website I was excited by all the different exhibits. Especially since there are exhibits both indoors and outside. I’m so excited to share with you all of the things that we loved about the Children’s Museum of Memphis.
Sonya Kendall lives in Central Arkansas with her husband and two children. During her free time, she enjoys sewing, blogging, listening to podcasts, and bingeing on Netflix (often doing two of these things at once). Sonya has dreams of sewing ridiculously fancy dresses one day. But until her skills allow for this she will continue sewing not so fancy clothing and blogging about her sewing adventures and more at sonyakendall.com. You can also find Sonya on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
I live in my DREAM HOME, but not my DREAM HOUSE. You might be wondering what the difference is. I love my home and the people I share it with, but I don’t love my house. READ MORE…
by Blogger of the Month, Amy Gramlich
As my husband says, you can’t go wrong with cheese tortellini. Earlier this week, I couldn’t decide which of the sausage and cheese tortellini soup recipes on Pinterest I wanted to try. None seemed healthy in any form or fashion so I couldn’t use that as a determinant. But delicious? All sounded highly delicious. The two recipes I was volleying between are this sausage and tortellini soup from Party in My Kitchen and this Crockpot sausage and tortellini soup from Little Fellows. READ MORE…
September brings with it all things Fall, including decorating. It’s time to bring out those Fall doormats, those leaf covered napkins and tablecloths, and get out all the other Fall decor to celebrate the season. And, if you’re lacking pumpkin decor or just need a refresh: craft your own. These Pumpkin Hoops are easy to put together and you can craft up several in just a few hours. So grab a hot cup of pumpkin spice flavored coffee and let’s get to Fall crafting! READ MORE…
Hello all you dear Arkansas Women Bloggers readers!
I’m Amy Gramlich – your Mrs. September.
Those are words I never thought I would speak! I’ve never had my own month before. If months weren’t so replaceable, one could really get a big head from such a title.
I suppose I’m to the part where I tell you all about Mrs. September.
I grew up in El Dorado, Arkansas, the home of the great Spudnut and Chick-A-Dilly Chicken. (Seriously, if you are ever in El Do and don’t give each of those places a try, I might cry for you.) The product of a south Arkansas man and a Panamanian woman, I grew up speaking a blend of redneck English and heavily accented Spanish. My parents’ diverse cultural backgrounds were evident on the dinner table each night, too. On a Wednesday night, it would be turnip greens, hot water cornbread, and fried ham. On Thursday, it might be arroz con pollo with a side of hojaldras and some sweet maduros. Whatever the night and whatever the flavor, my mom’s insistence that I help out daily in the kitchen led to my love of cooking today.
In college at Southern Arkansas University, I graduated with degrees in journalism and psychology. I worked as a newspaper reporter for about 1 ½ years before deciding to transition into teaching. I have my teaching certification in English, Spanish, English as a Second Language, Journalism, World Cultures, and several other history areas. Several years ago, I received my Master’s of Second Language Acquisition and Pedagogy from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. For nearly the last 15 years, I have worked as a Spanish teacher for 8th-grade. For about ten of those years, I also served as my school’s ESL teacher.
But once a writer, always a writer, huh? Even after I had switched to teaching, I continued to take on freelance writing assignments such as writing for my college sorority’s national magazine and for a local university’s monthly newsletter. I also started a little blog in 2008 as a creative outlet. I spent all of about 5 minutes deciding on a name. Blessed with the gift of gab my whole life, it seemed The Gifted Gabber was fitting. If I had it to do all over again, I might have actually chosen a name that actually represents my niche. But, hey, in 2008, I didn’t know there was any sort of method to the madness behind blogging.
In fact, after only occasionally updating my blog for about 5 years and treating it more like a personal journal, I decided to revive the gab in 2013. At this point, I had been married to my amazing husband, Jason, for nearly three years, and we had welcomed our first daughter, Harper, at the end of 2012.
Inspired by so many mommy, food, and fashion blogs I found through Pinterest, I realized I wasn’t utilizing my blog as I could. In August of 2013, I stumbled across a group of women in an organization called The Arkansas Women Bloggers. Huh? Bloggers had support groups? Who knew?! And not only that, ARWB was actually scheduled to host a state conference that very weekend in my own town. What luck!
How fortunate I was to learn from these women who were much wiser and more experienced than me when it came to professional blogging. Who would have thought I would be in my second contract year as an ambassador for McDonald’s? And how wild to think that I would go on to be chosen as an ARWB Blogger of the Month!
My blog – though once focused on balancing life as a Spanish teacher and a mom – is now mostly centered on mommy-and-me everything.
In 2014, we welcomed our second daughter, Norah, into our already hectic lives. And I am totally smitten with being a girl mom. Whether it’s mommy-and-me cooking, mommy-and-me style, family travel, party planning, or decorating my home around children, I enjoy gabbing about all of it. And so maybe The Gifted Gabber is a fitting name after all.
Well, there’s my introduction in my typical gabby fashion – more than you may have wanted to know! Thanks for sticking along for the read!
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