Author: The Park Wife

The Park Wife is a tribe builder. She is the founder of Arkansas Women Bloggers
(ARWB), an online community designed to gather,grow, and connect bloggers in our state. Stephanie recently launched her company The Women Bloggers
and expanded her state-focused blog communities into Oklahoma, Kansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas. Through ARWB, she holds the popular, smaller niche blog conference Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged, submerging
bloggers in an environment that fosters relationships, communication and some
pretty fierce dedication and camaraderie. Considered an old-timer in the blog
world, since 2005 she has written what she hopes is a love letter to her children
on her lifestyle blog, The Park Wife. Raised in the debutante world of Mississippi,
she married her hunky park ranger and moved to Arkansas 15 years ago and has
fallen in love with the state. She loves gardening, porch swings, a beautifully
set table, a delicious meal surrounded by great conversations, their cabin in the
woods and monograming everything that is not nailed down. She is a devoted
wife and fun-loving, homeschool mom to two extraordinarily cool little gentlemen
and is fortunate enough to live on one of Arkansas’s premier state parks.

Healthy Communities: Every Blogger’s Business

Or, What I Wish I’d Known About Parenting and Ancient Sea Monsters Circa 2003.

Details on an Arkansas Women Bloggers Twitter Party tonight (Tuesday 8/14 at 8p CST) AND a free conference registration giveaway in this post!

When I was pregnant for the first time nearly a decade ago, I went through what I’ve learned is a common ailment affecting many new mothers-to-be: behavior best defined as psychosis.

First, I grabbed copies of What to Expect When You’re Expecting and, naturally, What to Eat When You’re Expecting.  In case you’re unfamiliar, these are massive volumes.  I began reading and nearly had a mental breakdown.  I bookmarked pages for my husband (which he dutifully ignored), informed him I was giving up sugar in all forms (which caused him to laugh out loud) and made copious notes on all my findings (which only increased my certainty that I was incapable of parenting).

At some point early in my pregnancy, I remember hearing that as a future Arkansas mom I could order my very own copy of the Happy Birthday Baby Book, and I pounced on the telephone (mounted to the wall) to dial what is known as a “toll-free number.”  Foreign concept, I know.  I waited for it to arrive in the mail, and found that it was pretty full of resources for parents in Arkansas as well as a quick, easy read.

Fast forward to today (that kid is entering the third grade on Monday, by the way): I’ve had another daughter who has cemented my belief that while I’m capable of parenting, I may barely survive the childhood of the Kraken.  Yes, that’s what we call our second-born, in reference to Liam Neeson as Zeus in Clash of the Titans (2010) yelling “Release the Kraken!” in reference to a threatening monster from Hades.

A likely Kraken: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (1870).  And yes, this is how I often feel with my little Kraken.

Here’s the point of that diatribe (sometimes I have one): just like my intelligent and helpful older daughter, the Happy Birthday Baby Book has grown up.  And, I’m far more likely to somehow emerge unscathed from the Kraken’s childhood thanks to the assistance of that intelligent and helpful older daughter AND the intelligent and helpful new Happy Birthday Baby Books. 

There are now TWO super useful editions: Book One (Pregnancy through Age 1) and Book Two (Newborn through Age 5), and they come in either ebook form (hallelujah!) or a very useful purse or diaper-bag size hard copy (click here to check them out and order copies!)  We shared recently that we were exceptionally excited to have Healthy Families as the Presenting Sponsor for the Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged Conference (click here to read that post!) next week.

Click here to read online or order your free copies of the Happy Birthday Baby Books!

Thanks to these books, I’m receiving the counseling I need to raise a good little Kraken.  For example: Plan play dates, but remember that your 1-year-old is too young to be expected to share (Book 2).  Oh.  Right.

Also: regarding the comments I’ve made to several of you about the Kraken being very OCD: Your 2-year-old may want to eat the same thing every day.  WHAT?  I’m telling you – the Happy Birthday Baby Books people know everything there is to know about parenting.

Now, don’t check out on me if you are a) not likely to have kids anytime soon, if ever b) SO DONE with pregnancy and childbirth, and wondering why we don’t sponsor a nanny giveaway already or c) enjoying feeding sweets to your grandchildren on a regular basis as revenge for the wrinkles their parents caused you.

Here’s the thing, bloggers: Healthy Communities Are Every Blogger’s Business.  That’s why I am making note to start ordering copies of these books for every mom-to-be I know.  I may even keep some extra copies in my car – I’ve been known to accost people who talk about politics with voter registration forms, reminding them they are welcome to share their opinion with me by visiting the polls.   I’m thinking I may start giving copies of these gems to random pregnant women.  That should help me win friends and influence people – right?

All kidding aside – we want you to join us in our enthusiasm at working with Healthy Families.  Put very simply, they get it, ladies.  We all want more healthy moms, healthy pregnancies, healthy babies and healthy communities – it’s good for all of us.  So join the fun: place the badge above on your own blog, tell everyone you know about this phenomenal program, click the links to check out the website and the books, and… (drum roll please):

Join us tonight (Tuesday, August 14) for our FINAL pre-#AWBU Twitter Party!  It’s a short one, and it kicks off at 8:00 p.m. CST.  You may want to click over before then to http://www.HealthyFamiliesNow.Net/ebooks to do some checking it out, because we will have some questions for you to answer tonight that just may win you goodies or a FREE conference registration!  Join us even if you are already registered (we’ll let you give the last spot away!) or even if you can’t come to the conference, we promise it will still be worth your time!  Just set up a Twitter column to follow #AWBU and #HFNow, and be sure to use those hashtags in every tweet so we can keep up with you!

Miss June 2012 – Lisa Mullis

“…accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, … encompassing the obligation to report, explain and be answerable for resulting consequences.” Thank you, Wikipedia.

Frenetic Fitness

Frenetic Fitness is my way of holding myself accountable for working out regularly and for recording some of the results of my frenetic/disorderly/chaotic style of working out. That includes admitting that I’m a middle to back of the pack runner, that I love to ride my bike but won’t ever be racing time trials, and that at the end of the day, the fact that I have the energy to be as active as I want to be is what truly matters. I want people who read my blog to recognize that there are so many ways to incorporate fun fitness as well as tough workouts into even the busiest of lives. I enjoy participating in organized athletic events but so far have refused to concentrate on one type of training long enough to be competitive at them. I do not consider what I do “training”. Training implies a goal. While I sometimes berate myself for my inability to concentrate on training for a specific event, I do consider working out as training for my Life. To paraphrase 80’s icon Cyndi Lauper and that movie Sarah Jessica Parker probably still regrets, this girl just wants to have fun.  And eat lots of good food.

If you check my blog you might find a week’s worth of circuit workouts, a story about a road or trail running race, photos from a weekend bike ride, hike or backpacking trip, or the occasional oddity like the Warrior Dash. Much like my personality and conversational style, my blog is a little schizophrenic. I write about fitness as a lifestyle, not as an end product of effort. It’s not always about the gym workouts or what equipment I use, but about how fitness ties in to life with my family.

I live in Little Rock at the top of a long steep hill which means that any time I so much as walk the dogs, I count it as a workout. Besides the two dogs I share my house with my husband and my teenage daughter who just started driving, God Love Me. Occasionally, we have the two oldest kids around but they have their own lives that are usually much more interesting than ours. However, the promise of bike rides, mud, food or backpacking usually brings the middle one around.

Lisa Mullis Little Rock

When I’m not writing about the stuff that makes me sweat, I write about stuff that makes other people sweat at Arkansas Outside where my husband and I, yes a staff of two, try to keep a calendar of, photos of and stories about as many of the participatory sporting events in Arkansas as we can cover.

#Bean2Blog: Meet Your Community

#Bean2blog P. Allen Smith
Photo credit: Kelly Stamps

Written by Lyndi of nwafoodie

Today I want to talk about community.

Merriam-Webster defines community as “a people with common interests living in a particular area.”

I think I can safely say that we all joined the Arkansas Women Blogger’s community specifically for the reason that it gives us access to each other. Access to discover who is in our backyard.

We are here to learn, grow, share, and build on that community.

Last Tuesday, I had the extreme pleasure to meeting seventeen other Arkansas women bloggers at P. Allen Smith’s Moss Mountain Garden Home just outside of Little Rock at an event called #Bean2Blog. The Arkansas Soybean Board selected a cross-section of female bloggers from Arkansas to come to the farm and learn about the benefits of the humble soybean, one of Arkansas pride and joy bushel crops.

To say that we learned a lot that day on the farm would be an extreme understatement. Each one gathered knowledge in their unique way and then shared that knowledge by their own unique voices.

I loved meeting those ladies and wanted you to meet them, too.

Pour yourself a nice cool drink and pull up a chair or get comfy on the couch. Today you’re going to meet the #Bean2Blog ladies and hear their unique voices about the event. You are going to swoon over P. Allen’s gorgeous farmhouse and post a billion Pinterest photos for inspiration. You are going to laugh and fall in love with a real Arkansas farmer and immediately want to be adopted into his family.

You are going to want to hear all of their stories. I guarantee you will find a friend or two in the process.

I know I did.

Here’s a bonus. Some of these lovely ladies may be in your very own backyards.

Just waiting for you both to “meet” each other.

Enjoy the tour.

Northwest Arkansas Region
1. Stephanie McCratic, Evolved Mommy, “That’s Soy Controversial”
2. Lela Davidson, After the Bubbly, “Beans, Bloggers, and Big Ass Vegetables”
3. Amy James, Our Everyday Dinners, “Part IV. The People, The Boots.”
4. Kelly Stamps, Kellys Korner, “My Day at Moss Mountain”
5. Lyndi Fultz (me), nwafoodie “Learn, Share, Teach, and Continue Building on Lessons”

Northeast Arkansas Region
6. Sara Bird-Bogner, East 9th Street, “I’m a Little Country at the Garden Home Retreat”
7. Anita Stafford, Aunt Nubbys kitchen, “Bean2Blog 2012”

Central Arkansas Region
8. Alison Chino, Chino House, “Soaking it all in”
9. Ashley Ederington, The Ederington Family, “The Inaugural Bean2Blog Event”
10. Jerusalem Greer, Jolly Goode Gal, “ Soy Joy Pt2 Mucking Around the True Love Tree”
11. Johnice Hopson, Wynns Folly
12. Christi Ison, Fancy Pants Foodie
13. Tara Johnson, Taste Arkansas, “Bean2Blog”
14. JoBeth “Boots” McElhanon, Boots McBlog, “The Little Things, Part 2. The Farmhouse”
15. Kricia Palmer, Palmer Home, “A Simpler Life”
16. LaTonya Richardson, 40s, Reasons to Live, Love & Laugh Out Loud, “The Miracle Bean”
17. Cara Wilkerson, Living the Home Life, “Life Outside the Construction Site: Moss Mountain Farm”
18. Fawn Rechkemmer, Instead of the Dishes, “P. Allen Smiths #Bean2Blog Part 1”

Happy Reading!
Lyndi

Lyndi of nwafoodie is a girl who just happens to live in beautiful Northwest Arkansas. Much of her blogging inspiration comes from this gem of a place she refers to as the proverbial land of milk-and-honey. Read about her in the ARWB January 2012 blogger of the month autobiography.


Farmers’ Market Shopping 101

Written by ARWB Founder The Park Wife

Farmers Market season is upon us with many markets already open while others must wait until late June or July before farmers’ fields are productive. Four years ago, I started and ran two farmers markets – coordinating with the towns, recruiting vendors, connecting with customers and devising eccentric activities that keep the customers returning to the market even after their shopping was done.   With four market seasons under my belt and my time on the Arkansas Farmers’ Market Board, I have garnered a little wisdom (and a lot of farmer friends) and want to share a few tips with you that can enhance your farmers marketing experience.

Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food. Spend a few minutes chatting it up at your local farmers’ market! It takes tremendous dedication to both science and art (not to mention dirty feet and nails)  to turn out beautiful produce on a small farm, and the time you spend inquiring about the results of that dedication will yield both useful information and infectious enthusiasm.

 A huge benefit of farmers’ markets is your ability to look the farmer in the eye and ask anything you want about how the food was grown. That’s a rare opportunity in our supermarket culture. Do it!  Ask about a food you don’t recognize, how to cook it, and whether it’s coming in or heading out of season. Find out what the farmer expects to bring to market next week so you can start to plan ahead. Learn all you can about the farmer’s growing practices, and make sure you know who you’re buying from. And, sweet strawberry, make sure you are buying from a real farmer, not a peddler who went to a warehouse or south of the border and bought a truck load of produce to sell.

Know Your Seasons: If someone is selling watermelons in May in Arkansas, you can bet that they did not grow them locally. Check out the Arkansas crop harvest calendar.  http://www.pickyourown.org/ARharvestcalendar.htm

The Early Bird Gets the Worm, or Best Tomatoes: The season’s first blueberries and finest tomatoes will disappear within the first hour that the market is open, so if you’ve got your heart set on something in particular, it pays to wake up early. Hopefully the market you frequent will serve coffee.

Go Big: If it is in season, buy as much as you can! You’ll enjoy the best flavors and the best prices when you buy a lot of whatever is at its harvest peak. How to use it all up? Try new recipes with favorite vegetables or learn the lost art of preserving food. Freezing, canning, and drying are just some of the ways you can save seasonal tastes you find at the farmers market for later in the year.

Try Something New Each Week. A benefit of farmers’ markets, as compared to CSAs, is the increased ability to stay within your comfort zone if you so choose. But if you are lucky enough to visit a farmers’ market with a selection of unusual produce, why not try one new food each time you visit? At best, maybe you’ll discover a new love. At worst, you will know better next time.

BYOB -Bring your own bag, and maybe a cooler. Yea hippie chics, that reusable canvas tote is good for the earth and it helps the farmers out by not cutting into their already slim profit margins. You are also being kind to yourself, because those el cheapo plastic bags are no way to carry cantaloupes and a dozen ears of corn in one hand, yes, I have seen them bust resulting in bruised produce and embarrassed foodies. If your market sells eggs, cheese, or meat, bring a cooler. The only thing worse than passing up a dozen beautiful eggs because you’re not prepared to bring them home is bringing them home anyway and they ruin.

 And, my favorite-
Volunteer at the Market! By volunteering at the market not only do you get a better understanding of the workings of a farmers market and farm-to-market relationships, but you also enjoy an opportunity to spend some time outside volunteering for a good cause. By volunteering at the market, you reduce the substantial workload faced by the market manager. A good market manager makes a market, help them do their job, they usually are doing it for free. It will make your local market stronger and you may also earn some free fruit, vegetables or other food as many vendors will leave goods they don’t want to take home with market volunteers and management.

Celebrate your market and your local farmers.   Buy fresh, buy local and buy in season.

The Park Wife

Welcome to Arkansas Women Bloggers (Again)

The Arkansas Women Bloggers Leadership Team has been eagerly anticipating this moment: the debut of our new site! We have grown up and moved over to WordPress, mercy, help us now girls, we are loving it and learning something new constantly.

While the Arkansas Women Bloggers launch year, 2009, was not that long ago, it is amazing to realize how much we have grown and evolved. With 430 women bloggers throughout the state of Arkansas hopping on board, a fantastic conference held at the Ozark Natural Science Center this past June, and a wonderful meet-up in Little Rock under our belt, we wanted to have a site that will help all our members to have a place to Gather, Grow, and Connect in this bloggity world.

We cherish every one of you who has been with us along the way! We are excited to meet any newbie bloggers and those who were not fortunate enough to have heard about our amazing group of women before. Please invite all your bloggy friends to hop on board! Everyone needs to sign up (or re-sign up for all our existing member gals). It is free!

Hop over here and fill out our form and voilà, welcome to the gathering place to make friends with other Arkansas women bloggers, share stories and experiences and be inspired! Oh yes, there is more,  The Pioneer Woman generously donated one copy of her cookbook and one copy of Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, yes, both signed by her (Ree), for a giveaway. Go join the NEW ARWB and you will be entered.

Our MISSION: To be an Arkansas-based blogger community dedicated to growing women by gathering them into a common space with common objectives and by connecting and empowering them for the greater good.
In summary: Gather. Grow. Connect.

Our VISION:
-Gather: provide a gathering place, a sense of community and sisterhood and connections that yield results.
-Grow: offer education, tools, resources and connections delivered in a balanced manner to allow every woman to grow her blog and her voice.
-Connect: supply opportunities, professional connections, platforms and networking to help our bloggers build their personal brands.

Remember gals, go sign up now! Don’t delay, you need Ree’s cookbook to plan your holiday meals.

The AWB Leadership Team