Spotted Cow Review is my attempt to share about life with my family  on our Arkansas dairy farm intertwined with dairy recipes, answers to ddairy-relatedquestions and what I find to be thankful for down on the dairy farm.  Here’s a sampling of what you can find:

Life on the Farm:

           

Dairy Recipe:

                 

Dairy Q&A: 

Thankful Thursday:

 

Thank-you for letting me share a lot of dairy good stuff this month as Miss August!

By Gina Knuppenberg

So you’ve signed up for the Megaphone Summit Influencer conference. Yay! I’ll see you there. What’s that? You’re feeling nervous? Anxious? It’s your first AWB conference or first conference of any kind for that matter? Feeling awkward? No worries.

In my experience, awkwardness has been a state of mind. Mostly. I’ll explain more about that in a bit. Today, I’d like to share with you 5 tips for lessening the feeling of awkwardness that may be holding you back from participating not only in the Megaphone Summit, but also in other areas of social life both online and off.

Build Relationships Beforehand

This is probably fairly obvious and most likely something you’re already doing. You’re part of the group but maybe you’re too timid to join in conversations. Speak up. Ask questions. Offer perspective – everyone has a viewpoint and some are honestly more helpful than others. Even if you don’t have advice, a simple “I’m in the same boat” sort of response can build a relationship and create camaraderie. Visit blog posts, leave comments, let people get to know you. These are great ways to inspire friendships and collaborations.

Make A Plan For Connecting

Having a plan in place for connecting before you get to the conference will ensure that you get what you need out of the workshops and the speakers. Look over the workshop schedule. Make a list of questions you have. Anything on your list that isn’t answered during the speaker’s presentation-ask!

Connect with bloggers in your niche. Is there someone you admire? Like their blogging style? Let them know. Making the first move, much like a romantical (totally made up word) situation,  and approaching someone you haven’t met can be awkward. We’ve all been there. Don’t be shy. A great opening line (not to be confused with a pickup line) would be something like “Hey, Blogger. Your post on XYZ really spoke to me. Enjoyed it a lot.”

Bring Something For Them to Remember You By

Conferences and workshops tend to fly by. We’re all absorbing so much new information that it may be difficult to remember everything and later, when you follow up (foreshadowing), Blogger XYZ maybe needs a reminder of your conversation. Okay, I need a reminder because I have a terrible memory. It’s not you, it’s me.

My point? Business or blog cards are a good way to get your information into Blogger XYZ’s hot little hands. I like to make notes on the cards I collect. For example, “talked with XYZ about craft collab next month,” or “XYZ mentioned a blog series she writes-check it out.”

Realize That Awkwardness Is Mostly A State-Of-Mind. MOSTLY.

Let’s be honest. We’re hardest on ourselves; we overthink; get scared; stumble over our words. Nervousness and awkwardness go hand-in-hand like nerdy lovers in a new relationship. Eventually, things will smooth out and all will move like clockwork.

Or, you could actually stumble. Like, trip over electrical outlets built into the floor while passing out food samples from a large tray you were holding. Singsong it with me: awwkwaaaard.

Probably, I’m the only one who remembers that time that blogger did that. Because. It. Was. Me.  Awkward. I laughed at myself and kept going and you can, too. (It helps that this is a totally understanding and upstanding bunch of bloggers we’re associating with)

Lastly, Follow Up And Follow Through

When the conference or event is finished and you’ve recovered from information overload, take out those cards and notes you collected. Follow up with emails or social media shout outs. No one gets a second date if they don’t make a second call, right? In this case, though, the “let’s just be friends” statement is a good thing. Blogging and bloggers are like dating. Online they look great and sound great, but in real life maybe you just didn’t click. That’s okay, too. It happens.

Reconnect with those people with whom you can keep building. Together, we can influence, build great working relationships, and foster lasting friendships.

Are you feeling awkward about attending Megaphone Summit? Let’s connect while we’re there! The first five people who tweet out to me (@gknupp) with the hashtag #DSGisAwkward will receive something crafty from me to be given at the conference.  See y’all soon!

Hey, y’all! I’m Gina, a creative lifestyle blogger, serial DIYer & crafter, and hater of writing in third person perspective. I live just outside of Heber Springs on a hill, in a tiny cottage overlooking Greers Ferry Lake. My day job of nearly twenty years involves working in retail administration. I have a fiancé, a cat, and a budding infatuation with growing succulents. See what I did there?  Connect with me at my blog Desperately Seeking Gina, on Instagram, or on Twitter.

by Dorothy Johnson

Do you remember the first time you picked up a roly-poly and watched it turn into a shiny black ball? Caught a lizard in your hands? Or discovered a fledging’s in a nest on your very own. Sipped honeysuckle nectar the first time? Or learned there was such a thing as a four-leaf clover and if you were diligent and patient enough you, too, could press one between the pages of a book?

Do your remember when you first laid eyes on the ocean? Gazed across the Grand Canyon? Discovered that the headwaters of the Arkansas River was just a laughing stream?

With Each Discovery, Your World Expanded, Didn’t It?

What about when you found out you were good at something? Did you discover a new level of confidence that wasn’t there before?

Even mundane discoveries expand our horizons. Try it you’ll like can be true— even icky-looking food can taste good. So you added an item to your chicken tenders, fish sticks, French fries and plain spaghetti menu. That sauce tasted pretty good after all.

What about discovering that bees died when they stung you? It made you sad—even though your foot hurt like crazy? We didn’t like learning that beloved kitties run away and dogs aren’t designed to live as long as humans—and never quit wishing it were different.

You Grew Up a Little with Each Discovery, Didn’t You?

I bet you’ve found out there’s something you loved so much that you’d rather be busy doing it than anything else. Maybe it’s even changed the direction of your life.

You may have learned that the people you thought you loved most can hurt you most.

But there really are more fish in the sea, and some are really quite nice.

Second chances can be sweeter than the firsts because you understand what a gifts they are.

I remember the comfort of discovering a great truth: There’s much more to this life than what’s visible.

We need one another because we’re so much better together.

We Are Never Too Old to Learn

Even as a grandmother, I’m still discovering things. Some, Here are just a few.

Spot treating your cloth napkins with Dawn Dishwashing Liquid will get out the grease spots. Thank you, Daughter, Dear.

Oxy-Clean Prewash Gel will get anything out of clothes. Applause to CH.

(That’s important to folks like me who seem to dribble cheese dip and such on the fronts of our shirts.)

Apple Mac Airs make blogging life much easier. Love to TTB.

You should hang around your children, grandchildren, and younger friends—or elders if you’re still fresh and young. They’re savvy about lots of things.

No matter your age, you are never too old to try something new. (Unless it will break your bones. Please use good judgment.)

All these discoveries shape our live, and if we allow them, make us better people.

May New Discoveries Never Cease!

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” Rev. 21:5 NKJV

Oh, and one last thing: Thank you, ARWB Friends.

So glad I discovered you through a younger friend, TTB. 

Dorothy Johnson and her husband, Terry, live with their three kitties on a ridge overlooking the Arkansas River in Little Rock, Arkansas. She’s the mother of three, grandmother of eight. and a retiree with a background in publishing. Dorothy’s passion is to help women understand their value in Christ Jesus. She has taught Bible studies and contributes devotionals and poetry to Alive Now, an Upper Room publication, and FaithHappenings.com. Her stories also appear in several anthologies. She is currently finishing her first novel. Dorothy finds spiritual lessons in the most ordinary happenings of life and shares her thoughts and faith at Reflections from Dorothy’s Ridge http://www.reflectionsfromdorothy.blogspot.com.

by Jessica Bauer, Miss July 2016

We know our kids’ favorite colors, right?

Nathan has always been partial to red. Owen’s answer is along the lines of, “orange and green… and yellow and purple and blue.” He takes after his mother. Nora won’t miss a beat to tell you pink, and you’ll see it reflected from her bows to her boots.

We know what makes our kids tick. We can anticipate movie requests for the long drive to Grammy’s and the excuses they’ll use to stretch bedtime. When I read that this month’s blog theme was discover, my kids didn’t immediately come to mind. I grew these small people, what’s left to know?

Answer: so much.

Once a year, on their birthdays, I play a game of 20 questions with my kids to share a little insight with my readers. We cover the basics for a snapshot of who they are. It’s fun to compare and contrast, but as their answers shift, so do they. My kids are growing up and as children do, they’re growing out. Before I send them into the unknown, I need to see them.

I love chatting about what’s going on at school or day care, but sometimes I’m too busy talking or thinking or staying one step ahead to truly look at them. As a mom, I want to challenge myself to discover who my children are beyond one-word answers.

I have to stop long enough to hold their faces in my hands and dedicate my attention. I want to talk to them about the hard stuff and give validation to the answers they find when seeking. Discovering facets of the people we brought into this world is a highlight of parenting, but it’s easy to stop noticing.

Kids change every day. Every single day a new personality trait is hatched in my home. Some for better, some for worse. It seems Nora is approaching age three as a master negotiator. Future lawyer? Owen will begin kindergarten this fall and he’s increasingly curious about what the looming hallways {and cafeteria ladies} will bring. Nathan is edging closer to double digits and packed full of wisdom on some topics grown men and women can’t get right. I have to see them. I have to discover who they are today and notice who they are becoming.

On the same note, I often fail to see myself. As much as I focus on getting through the rush of everyday life, self-reflection gets shoved to the back burner; but when I allow myself a few minutes of silence or writing, new thoughts jump forward. I’m 32 years old and still finding myself. I don’t want to lose who I am, but I don’t want to stifle who I could become.

My advice to both you and me: slow down, open your eyes, and look. Look in the mirror, then turn around and look at your kids. Look closely and discover everything you can. You might be surprised.

by Dr. Margaret Rutherford, Miss June 2016

Before I started blogging in August 2012, I was a normal, slightly overworked psychologist.

My son was in his freshman year in college. I had sat down and begun to write some of what I was experiencing. Jeannette Balleza Collins, whose job was to encourage entrepreneurs here in Northwest Arkansas, read a couple of them, and told me I should start blogging.

I had never read a blog.

She set me up on WordPress, and after much editing, debate, cold feet, and pondering how I could write about my own life ethically, she hit “Publish” on December 17th, 2012.

I needed the nudge. “You’re ready,” she said, with a smile.

I had become quite accustomed to the relative anonymity of being a therapist. I rarely talked about myself — even my friends told me I wasn’t as forthcoming as they would’ve liked. Although a lot of people who meet me might think I’m fairly extroverted, I’m actually an introvert, much more comfortable at home with a book, than socializing.

Since that day in 2012, my days have grown more busy, my views and life more known, and my world more… peopled.

It’s quite nice, and very meaningful.

What’s a typical day like?

I’ve always been an early morning person (one of those cheery, energetic people who non-early morning people despise…). That’s lucky, because I start seeing patients usually at 9 or 10:00 am. I work out several mornings a week, either with a trainer (who pays no attention when I bemoan the fact that I’m too old to do one more plank), or I walk the very steep hill we live on – 3 miles, round trip.

Since I sit in a chair and listen for a living, the exercise is mandatory for survival.

The mornings I’m not off sweating somewhere, I’m writing, usually by 5:30 or 6.  My structure has been to write a post a week for my own website, and I’ve been Midlife Boulevard’s featured mental health blogger for almost two years. So I owe them a post a month. I also wrote original posts for Boomeon once a month, but that website petered out a few months ago.

Like all of you, I’m doing the other blogging work – checking emails for questions from readers, commenting on other blogs, Tweeting or Pinning or Instagramming. The last year, I’ve been writing a book as well, and have been busy with research, interviews, finding an agent and completing a book proposal.

Then I’m off to my real job, seeing usually seven or eight patients a day. I have volunteered for several years at a local free health clinic as well, work that is tremendously rewarding.

I have never gotten tired of what I do. It’s such an honor for people to trust you with their vulnerabilities, to count on your experience to help them see their way through depression, anxiety, despair, loss, or trauma. You name it. I’m a huge believer in trying to connect people with their own strengths.

People often ask, “But don’t you get down, hearing all those problems?”

They forget how much courage I see. The positive change I watch as someone learns, makes connections, heals from trauma, takes responsibility, works through shame — whatever their particular path happens to be — is amazing.

When I come home, and after I’ve returned phone calls that couldn’t be taken during the day, I love to relax… and cook. If it’s got garlic in it, I have tried to cook it. When I’m absolutely bushed, we might go out. (Since we had only the one son, it’s just me and my husband now..) Or we scrounge together for leftovers.

People ask me if I have watched certain more serious TV or cable shows that are all the rage. That’s a big “no.” Since what I do can be pretty serious, Nashville or Scandal is about as heavy as I get.

The rest of the night, it’s time to relax. My husband and I laugh.. a lot. But sometimes, I need some time alone (that whole introverted thing…).  He’s been married to me long enough to give me that space.  “I know I’m not supposed to take this personally,” and he’ll head upstairs.

It was a huge transition not to be a hands-on parent anymore. My son comes and goes, but won’t come home to live again. All that is as it should be. So this is the new normal.

I have my work, my writing, my husband and other people that I love (not in that order…).

No telling what the next years will bring.

I’ll keep on trying to be ready.