(**Please know I had to have psychological counseling from the Hubs before and after taking these photos. The proximity to the subject placed me at risk of us coming in contact – a daunting task I have never before considered!)
Jodi Coffee, who blogs at The Coffee House, is the mom to three beautiful and energetic little girls that ALWAYS gives her something to blog about. She loves to try new things – food, travel and adventure.
In her spare time…wait a minute. What is that?She enjoys training for triathlons. She has signed up to do her first marathon in December. She is a backyard farmer, a farmer’s market manager, and enjoys helping bring healthy opportunities to the community.
I am extremely honored to be Arkansas Women Bloggers October Blogger of the Month. Thank you!
I’m Kelly Jo from Delta Moxie where I share my life living in rural Arkansas. My real name is Kellee Mayfield. When my husband and I moved to Lake Village (very southeast Arkansas) six years ago, I began playing tennis for the first time in my life. People started calling me Kelly Jo while I was on the courts and off. It stuck (especially in my tennis circle).
We have a precocious, creative seven-year-old daughter who is saving her money for an RV. A fancy one. When I point out smaller RV’s she quickly says, “No. She has her sights on a big rock star tour bus. So maybe in the future I’ll be driving her and her RV around until she’s old enough to get her driver’s license.
Until then, I spend many of my days in operating rooms, cath labs or doctors’ offices working as a contract clinical specialist for a medical device company. It’s fast-paced, challenging and very fulfilling. It makes me feel good.
My blog, Delta Moxie, is a cumulation of what it’s like to live in the Mississippi Delta and southeast Arkansas…well, at least from my perspective. I am fortunate enough to travel and explore this area with my job. Lake Village is like a bedroom community for Greenville, Miss. My husband, the man with no personal social media accounts, really loves my blog and is my biggest fan. He insists people go follow Delta Moxie, like the Facebook Fan Page and follow me on twitter. That’s some true love, right there.
I recently joined Mississippi Women Bloggers, as well, because I spend a lot of time in Mississippi. I cross over the Mississippi River most days and somedays, several times a day. (Y’all, the Mississippi River is amazing!) Like many of the children in Lake Village, our daughter attends school in Greenville. You’ll see Lake Village people (I call citizens of Lake Village, “Lake Village People”) at the Greenville Walmart, Greenville dry cleaners, Greenville Toyota dealership, and eating at the original Doe’s Eat Place, you know…in Greenville. It’s a good 30 minute-one-way trip to Greenville. Lake Village is rural and Greenville is less rural. (There is no Starbucks within 90 miles…and that’s okay.)
To tell you more about me, I’m passionate about painting (art, although I’m getting good at painting walls), eating whole-nutrient-dense food, writing, blogging, hating mosquitos, hoarding reusable shopping bags, Netflix, the Mississippi River, traveling and the Delta.
A big virtual hug goes to Arkansas Women Bloggers for the support and community this group of women provides. I’ve gone from knowing zero to October Blogger of the Month. Your content and monthly challenges are invaluable. (If you are a woman and blog in Arkansas, you need to join.)
In the midsts of this season’s spooking and everything scary, ARWB’s October theme is Phobias. I experienced a phobia in the spring involving a Texas bridge I will call unreasonably tall.
A few years ago I purchased the book Arkansas Dayhikes For Kids & Families by Tim Ernst. I love hiking and was determined to drag my family along on hikes we could enjoy together.
Since our kids are spaced out in age: 16, 14, 9 and 4, I love that this book tells you how long the trail is and how difficult it will be. It includes hikes that are wheelchair accessible and stroller friendly. He covers hikes from all regions of Arkansas and whenever we are going on a vacation, I will try to squeeze in a hike along the way.
We have made it to many of the trails in the book, and even done some of them twice!
One of our favorite locations that recently managed to please everyone from the 16 year old to the 4 year old (a very big deal) is Petit Jean Mountain.
We have visited the park twice and both times have had a child younger than four so we haven’t yet done the Cedar Falls Trail which Ernst gives three hot dogs (his rating system) for difficulty. But we hope to try this one next time.
Here are the trails we have enjoyed:
Bear Cave Loop is a very short .3 mile walk, but it is so interesting. The kids love the huge boulders and there is plenty to explore.
Rock House Cave Trail is another short .3 mile trail but it is definitely full of fun things to see. You pass by some neat rocks called turtle rocks that my kids love to climb on. When you get to the rock house cave you will want to spend some time looking around. It’s such a neat place and if you look carefully you’ll find Indian drawings on the wall.
Cedar Creek Loop is one we didn’t hike (3 hot dogs) but we did drive to the pioneer cabin where you can look down in the Cedar Creek Canyon. We went in November and the view was just gorgeous.
I hope you’ll get a chance to visit Petit Jean Mountain with your family. It’s just one of Arkansas’ beautiful state parks.
Melissa Stover is an Arkansas native, child and family photographer, homeschooling mother of four, Carmex addict, Coke drinker, Mad Men fan and nature lover. Read more on her bloghttp://melissastover.com/blog
At Triple A Farms, also known as Anglin Dairy, dairy farming is much more than a job for my 4thgeneration dairy farming family–it’s a commitment to producing wholesome, quality dairy products for you and your family. For us, conservation of natural resources and being good stewards of the land and animals which we oversee is a way of life and fundamental to the economic survival and success of our dairy operation.
Every day of the year, we milk 300 Holstein cows twice daily, raise our own replacement animals and grow crops to feed our cows. Our cows enjoy eating in a well-ventilated covered feed barn that is equipped with fans and sprinklers , access to plenty of fresh water and pastures to rest in between milkings.
As members of Dairy Farmers of America Cooperative, our milk is transported to the Hiland Dairy Plant in Fayetteville for pasteurizing and bottling.
Over the years, our family has managed our land using conservation principles. We are permitted by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality that allows us to utilize the manure that is produced by the cows to fertilize our land for crop production, protect our environment, and enhance the economic sustainability of the farm.
As we mooove into fall, we’re extra busy with harvesting the silage crop, baling hay and caring for a new crop of baby calves. As ‘dairymom’, my duties also include providing food for the farmers. One of my family’s favorite dairy dessert recipes is perfect for busy days. Purple Puddin’, (also known by adults as Raspberry Delight), can be prepared quickly for any occasion or season. My mother-in-law always seemed to know when we needed a perfect sweet treat!
Mix the sweetened condensed milk with the lemon juice, set aside. Whip the cream, fold in the jam. Stir whipped cream mixture into milk mixture. Add nuts, mix well.
Place a layer of vanilla wafers in the bottom of 9 x 9 in. dish.
Cover with half of the pudding, top with another layer of wafers, and pudding. Finish with wafers on top.
Chill and serve.
By Susan Anglin
Arkansas Women Bloggers https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/
Susan Anglin ,Spotted Cow Review, shares truth, treasures and transitions from her perspective as wife, mother, registered nurse and farmer on a 4thgeneration Arkansas dairy located six miles west of Bentonville. Transformed from Bentonville city girl into a farmer after 29 years of ‘on the job’ training, Susan enjoys sharing her passion for farm life and food production.
You never know just how much of a responsibility children are until you have them. They are one of the most precious things in this life, and yet, they are also one of the scariest. Before you have any children, you are free to do mostly what you want. If you want to go to Wal-mart to buy the latest Twilight movie that is coming out at midnight, you can. It may be detrimental to your sleep and your spouse might not be very happy, but the point is that you can. When children come into the picture, this is no longer true. For the most part, you don’t let the kids out of your sight, much less run off to Wal-mart at midnight.
When I had my oldest, Susan, I started realizing just how big of a deal it is to raise your children well. After the initial shock of no sleep ever and buying more diapers than I could count, it started dawning on me that I was going to be her first teacher in life. Everything I did she was going to notice. Susan was going to look to me to know what was right and what was wrong. Whatever I did, she was probably going to do too. Small children are like little parrots. They mimic a lot. Naturally, this type of realization hit me like a bolt of lightning. It is a scary thought for many of us after we start thinking about our pasts. So the teaching began. You teach them to pick their toys up, to use the potty, to speak so you can actually understand their gibberish. But one of the most important things you can teach them is to be kind.
I waited tables at a pizza place for several years, and I saw so many people who were having a bad day, or who were just grumpy. I generally don’t let grumpy people bother me. I remind myself that these people might need a little smile, a little cheer. Maybe they just needed a little kindness. And after all of those years doing my best to be kind to people, even though sometimes I was feeling rather mean, it has somehow rubbed off on Susan. She is very kind to everyone around her, and she is very friendly. We were at Wal-mart a few days ago and went through the side door instead of the automatic one. She saw that there was a lady coming and wanted to hold the door open for her, although she was still several feet away. In fact, she ended up holding the door for four or five people. And all I heard were the comments of how nice she was and how you just didn’t see that anymore. It’s a shame too. It’s a very important lesson we could all learn from.
I have a small sign in my kitchen that says “Kindness Matters”. And it really does. It may be such a small thing, but it can make such a big difference.
I live in Arkadelphia, Arkansas with my two wonderful daughters and my loving husband. I love to write and took up blogging this year. It has become my new passion.
Back to school time is a change of pace for all students, moms, dads, and teachers. Whether you home school, send your kids to public school, work full time, work part time, or are a teacher yourself, back to school time means change. We change our routines, schedules, activities, etc…
Some of the change is Boo Hoo and some of the change is Woo Hoo but regardless a change.
I used to be a public school teacher/coach before being promoted to full time mom to my 3 little kiddos. So back to school is emotional for me as well. I’m so blessed and thankful to stay at home and be the one to take care of my kids. But back to school time always brings up the emotions of preparing for a basketball season, decorating a classroom, and meeting all my students/players- which I love to do as well. My husband is still in the education profession which makes the change even more difficult with saying goodbye to summer and helping him with his classroom (and not doing my own).
Then you have
the mamas who are sending their first baby off to kindergarten.
the mamas sending their last baby to kindergarten.
the moms who want to stay at home and be ready with an after school snack for their kids, but have to work until 5 or 6 to provide for the family.
the moms who used to be teachers but gave up the classroom to be the full time mom.
the moms who home school and are establishing a whole new routine.
the moms who are teachers.
the teachers who are adjusting to new schedule.
Point is- This is a season for change for most of us. And change is hard. It’s hard to adjust to new routine and schedule. It takes a while before we are all settled in and ready to glide through the year with poise and grace.
So what do we do about it?
We choose to have Joy. We choose to be kind. We choose to be thoughtful and mindful of our friends, teachers, kids, and family who are adjusting to a new rhythm.
I don’t know about you, but when I’m adjusting to a new rhythm of life some of the normal things like cooking and cleaning get off schedule. And we all know that when routine and schedule gets knocked around life can be a little more stressful.
Let’s make a deal ok?
Let’s all do 1 act of kindness for someone we know that is adjusting to the new school year.
Do you have a friend who is a teacher/mom? Make her dinner one night this week and deliver it to her. (I promise she will be thrilled!) It’s hard setting up the new school routine with your students as well as your family at home.
Do you have a teacher friend with a whole new classroom? Grab her some good chocolate and attach a note reminding her to take a break and enjoy some chocolate.
Do you have a friend who just sent their last baby to kindergarten? This can either be a (boo hoo) or a (woo hoo) depending on the mom. Pick up a $5 Chik-Fil-A card and treat that mom to a milk shake. (I just said Chik-Fil-A because they are my favorite) Have you had their new shake of the month?
Do you have a friend who just sent their first baby to kindergarten? Pick up a funny mom card and tell her what a great mom she is.
Do you have a mom friend that has to work late in the afternoons? Send Pizza to her house one night to help her out.
Do you have a homeschooling mama friend? Pick up a pack of cute colorful pens to give her and handwrite her a card telling her how valuable she is to take on the role of teacher and CEO of her household.
No matter what season of life you are in. Change happens when the school year starts. Change always means adjustments are being made in your life. Let’s support each other in this season by doing 1 small act of kindness. It’ll be fun!
What act of kindness are you going to do?
Is the start of the new school year (boo hoo) or (woo hoo) for you?
Let’s Go Girls. We got this.
Amanda
Amanda Farris is a wife to her super hero hunk of a husband and a mother to 3 little kiddos. Amanda is a teacher/coach who hung up her coaching whistle after she got promoted to motherhood. She is a runner who loves all things sports and outdoors. She loves early morning traveling, long coffee chats with her husband, and fresh flowers on her table. She is an adventurer at heart and has a great talent of unintentionally becoming over-busy (that’s a bad thing). So she is constantly reevaluating her life priorities which keeps her on her toes and helps her to live life passionately and deliberately. You can find her occasionally blogging at www.embracinggrace.org. Come Join the Adventure.
Robin Barker writes the blog Robin’s Balancing Act in-between her roles as a business executive, mom to three (mostly) grown up kids, and wife of 25+ years. The Barkers’ home and refrigerator are always open making their place a very popular hungry teen hangout. She writes about living a FULL life and finding JOY in the journey! She hopes to encourage busy moms with support, smiles and solutions for everyday life.
by Lela Davidson, Arkansas Women Bloggers Miss September 2013
Back to school means back to volunteering, right? Okay, that might sound odd coming from the One Who Was Blacklisted.
I’ve never been much of a school volunteer, but that’s not to say I haven’t felt the tug of the tempera paint masterpieces and artisan-quality cupcake making. Each year as school starts I savor a brief moment when I actually believe things might be different. I might make it to those booster club meetings. I might sign up to cook chili this year. I might show up to craft centerpieces out of foam and glitter.
Or not.
I do my part in other ways. I have served at-risk girls and troubled teens. I have made the local library a better place and improved shelters for children whose parents, in my opinion, are a complete waste of skin. I have a long history of volunteer work and I’d like to be able to continue it. However, lately I’m feeling extra conflicted.
On the one hand there are literally not enough hours in the day to succeed at my new job, feed my family, keep the sink grime at bay, and also take care of the business of serving on a non-profit board.
On the other hand, I honestly believe that many hands make short work of any project. My hands are certainly able.
On the one hand I’m a cranky woman of a certain age who would rather spend write a check and be done with it than go through the effort of putting on a fundraiser only to be disappointed with the turnout or surprised when said fundraiser does not actually raise funds. (And to be horribly honest, I’d rather spend my free evenings writing or drinking boxed wine on the driveway than spending precious creative energy on promoting the 43rd gala of the year.)
On the other hand, I understand deeply the power of working together for a cause, no matter the cause, and no matter the results. I have made most of my very best friends in the Junior League. (Go ahead, mock if you must, because you just don’t get it.) I know that it’s not the dollars raised, but the process that matters. Volunteering is more about the bonds and connections and implicit value of a job well done.
Sure, on the that hand.
On the other hand: So. Much. Work. And now with my new actual work, the one that provides income for me to care for my own little community of four, I’m having a tough time balancing.
On the one hand, there is a fine line between my healthy over-achieving tendencies and straight up overwhelm. I might need a 12-step program.
On the other hand, there are really only two steps:
#1 – Monitor my calendar every single day.
#2 – Don’t say yes to ANYTHING I don’t want to do, or want to do but don’t have time or energy to do.
There was a time I needed volunteering in order to maintain some order in my life. It filled the space left behind when I stopped working out in the world with other people. I may have fooled myself into thinking I was volunteering for different reasons than I really was. Truth is I needed volunteer work to fill spots on my calendar, to give me networks of other adults, and to make me feel accomplished in a way that changing diapers cannot do.
Life is challenging enough right now. It’s time for me to change direction. I’m not leaving, but switching onto the worker bee track. I no longer need to plan and organize and lead in my volunteer life. I need to do those things at home and at work. Someone else take the leadership role and I’ll be your worker bee. Tell me what to do. I’ll show up with a smile and my able hands.
And if you need a spreadsheet, I’m your girl.
How do you give back? And how do you balance giving to the greater good with all your close-to-home commitments?
Eilleen Jennings and Jacquelin Wolven are hilarious and I want to sit with them whenever I get a chance because I’m always so flipping intense and I need women like them in my life to help me lighten up!
Angie Albright has a delightful laugh that I could listen to all the time
Terra is super creative and sweet, and I could take her home, squeeze her, pet her, and call her George.
Sarah Daigle is smart in a way that I aspire to be (coding rocks)
everybody should have at least one good wig, thank you Kelly Jo
Debbie is fantastic. Cheerful, supportive, on the mission. I love her!
Stephanie McCratic has a famous picture taking pose and I need to master this
I need a tutu and a tractor, because that’s the kind of girl I am, thank you Ashley
I definitely live in the land of deep fried meat. I don’t think I ever heard so many praises on behalf of bacon. We even saw pictures of stalagtites and stalagmites caused by excessive meat cooking, and these were taken by Janeal, a meat science Ph.D. Nope, not even kidding.
Bloggers are, for the most part Introverts. Throw them all together for a weekend at camp and you get a 100 women who will hang out for a little while, but just can’t wait to get back to their own head space.
I want to be able to speak as easily and comfortably as Boomama. She made us all feel like we were together like family.
There are real live women making money as writers and mothers, and doing it well. Robin’s Chicks, Boomama, and Tricia Goyer are amazing. I’m inspired.
Jodi Dilday exudes confidence and beauty. She makes me want to stand up straight.
Donnie Ferneau may bake absolutely everything at 500 degrees (raw foodists like myself try not to let our food get up above 119 degrees) and call it cooking like a chef, but he definitely is singing my song with the fresh local foods and his lack of tolerance for grown up Mac N Cheese. Amen.
It’s very difficult to talk about healthy eating when we all have such emotional attachments to our food. GastroMom is not very popular among beef farmers, but her data is staggering. Sheer information. I have challenges ahead of me if I’m going to blog about Raw Food Health in the land of Deep Fried Meat.
Stephanie Buckley is a woman of vision to be able to put this event together, harnessing the power of such amazing, creative, beautiful, funny, and powerful women.
Travel blogging is an option. Don’t know why I didn’t think about that before. Thanks to Ally for that insight.
Looking forward to all that I have to learn about blogging. Thank you for the introduction #awbu
Wendy Finn is the mother of 4 boys, owner of I.M. Spa, a Raw Food Enthusiast and Educator, a Licensed Massage Therapist for 20 years, and a gardener. She’s passionate about touching people and sharing health. You can find her at www.itouchpeople.wordpress.com
When I registered for Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged (#AWBU) this year, I registered for Foodie Friday as well. Last year I arrived at the end of the Foodie Friday Challenge and witnessed how much fun it was.
I don’t consider myself an amazing cook because I keep my meals simple. If I’m not preparing my meal in a blender, I’m keeping the number of ingredients to about 3 to 5. So when Amanda Brown asked me to be a table leader for this year’s #AWBU Foodie Friday Challenge, I agreed and considered that they might be desperate for help!
The team leaders were provided guidelines a few days before the big event, and I knew then the Foodie Friday coordinators had made a mistake in asking me to lead a team.
We had a maximum of 45 minutes to prepare and present for judging one appetizer that could serve 15-20. Each team was given an “In-Basket” of items from which we had to use at least one ingredient, Presentation items which we were to share with other teams, and Pantry items which were first come, first served. Team Leaders were also told just a few days before the conference that we could bring ONE secret ingredient. I chose to bring miso.
I created these easy to read boards for my newly formed team to visualize the ingredients, guidelines and discuss our options.
Ceri was nominated as our kitchen runner and Lenora served as our pantry runner. Talya and Samantha were the bosses of the prep table. These women are amazing. They orchestrated and created an incredible winning appetizer, Bacon-wrapped Stuffed Dates with an Orange Marmalade Miso/Soy Sauce.
Bacon-wrapped Stuffed Dates with an Orange Marmalade Miso/Soy Sauce
Ingredients
1 bag of whole pitted dates
1/4 package of feta or goat cheese
1 bag of whole almonds
Petit Jean Meats bacon slices, quartered
toothpicks
Sauce
1 jar of orange marmalade
1 tbsp. miso
3 tbsp. water
1/4 cup soy sauce
Preheat oven to 500º F.
Split dates down the center lengthwise. Place one almond inside each date, add a pinch of feta or goat cheese, wrap in 1/4 slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Repeat until all dates are filled and wrapped.
Place on baking sheet. Bake until bacon is cooked (about 10-15 minutes). (In the case of the Foodie Friday Challenge we did not have access to the oven so we pan seared the bacon until it was cooked.)
Sauce
Blend miso into three tablespoons of hot water and dissolve. In a sauce pan, add 1 jar of orange marmalade, dissolved miso and water, 1/4 cup soy sauce. Stir and simmer for simmer 20 minutes. (or microwave for 30 seconds, as Ceri prepared it in our case).
Thank you, Debbie Arnold,Julie Kohl,Amanda Brown and Gina Knuppenburg for coordinating a very informative Foodie Friday and an incredibly fun Foodie Friday Challenge. And thank you, esteemed judges: Mimi SanPedro, Joel DiPippa, Daniel Walker, Kevin Shalin, Alice Stewart and Justin Burks.
Talya, Ceri, Lenora and Samantha, you women created a fabulous appetizer!
The thank you list is not complete without extending our heartfelt gratitude to our wonderful AWBU Foodie Friday Sponsor, Arkansas Farm Bureau. What a delicious and enriching event.
Enjoy!
Kelly Jo at Delta Moxie
In 2007, Kellee Mayfield and her family moved to Lake Village. Kellee was quickly given the nicknamed “Kelly Jo” and the name stuck.
As an Oklahoma native, Kelly Jo writes about living in very southeast Arkansas and the Mississippi Delta which has been penned the most Southern place on earth. She also shares her art as well as the art of resourcefulness as being the key to really small town living. Kellee is a mother, wife and contract clinical specialist for a medical device company. And she has a southern drawl. Catch up with Kelly Jo at Delta Moxie.
Jodi Coffee, who blogs at The Coffee House, is the mom to three beautiful and energetic little girls that ALWAYS gives her something to blog about. She loves to try new things – food, travel and adventure.
Robin Barker writes the blog Robin’s Balancing Act in-between her roles as a business executive, mom to three (mostly) grown up kids, and wife of 25+ years. The Barkers’ home and refrigerator are always open making their place a very popular hungry teen hangout. She writes about living a FULL life and finding JOY in the journey! She hopes to encourage busy moms with support, smiles and solutions for everyday life.
