Hello, all. My name is Kayla Dean, and I am honored to be ARWB’s Miss December 2015. I’d like to begin by telling you all a little bit about myself.
In short: I’m an incredibly busy person.
The longer story:
I’m a mother of an adorable four-year-old boy named Lukas Conrad.
In addition to being his full-time mommy, I also work full-time at Arkansas State University in Beebe as a Student Development Specialist (which is just a fancy title for tutor—a.k.a mother to all panic-stricken college freshman). As a tutor, I wear many hats, helping with everything from Spanish to English, Algebra to Microsoft Applications, and even a bit of PR and business classes. This year, I have been selected to be a part of the university’s L.E.A.D. program that has kept me very busy learning about the administrative side of higher education—which is really interesting! I occasionally teach a few classes at the university as well in Composition and World Literature (right now I’m enjoying a semester off), and I voluntarily lead our youth program at church. Also, in my spare time (which is dwindling nowadays), I write books. Last year, I self-published two books: my novel, Muted, and Autumn Leaflets: a Collection of Poetry. Currently, I am working on a YA trilogy called The Ferocity Series—book one is currently available for pre-order on Amazon and will be released January 15, 2016, and I’m writing book two. And last but certainly not least, I blog.
I started blogging in November 2011 (three months after my son was born) after a mentor at a writer’s retreat held at Hemmingway-Pfeiffer suggested it to me. I didn’t know much about blogging at the time, other than the blogs I’d read on my Facebook feed—though, at the time, I don’t think I even realize that they were blogs. But I’m so glad that I was introduced to blogging because I LOVE it!
One thing I’ve noticed about bloggers is that we all seem to have a passion and joy for the written—and the spoken—word (Yes, that was my stab at a we-talk-too-much joke), but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. In fact, I’ve heard it said that most talented writers do talk too much. While I’m not entirely sure if this is true, my oversized mouth and I like to think that it is. Writers always have a lot say, and when they can sit down and put their stories to paper, magic happens. And that’s what I’d like to talk to you all about in this month’s posts: the magic of writing.
In the coming weeks, I’d like to inspire you all to do some creative writing. Perhaps, you’re already an amazingly creative writer—that’s great! I’d love to read some of the stories you come up with. Or maybe, you never thought creative writing was your thing—that’s fine too! But I do hope that you will give it a try. Think of it this way: at least you will have a few short stories to add to your portfolios—or you could use one as a future blog post for those busy months when you don’t have time to say what you want to say.
Either way, “the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful,” so go ahead; snuggle up on the couch with a blanket and a notebook and put to paper some of your own magical stories.
I’m looking forward to working with you all this month on your magical stories. If you post any of your work on social media, make sure you use #magicalstory so we can all find each other. Or feel free to post any of your stories in the comment section below.
If you’d like to check me out on social media, click the links below:
It’s crunch time for the holiday season! We all just wrapped up a busy Thanksgiving week and are now making sure we have our to-do lists checked off for Christmas and trying to juggle our regular to do lists as well. Time management is essential. Really time management is essential any time of the year because busy is simply a part of our culture and who we are. Busy is not unique to any one person or season of life, it’s a constant. But, it is how we handle our schedules that matter. It’s our attitudes that matter.
As I was thinking about the “Abundance” theme for this month the thought of an “abundance of time” came to my mind. I’m sure we all wish we had an abundance of time to get things done and to still have time to do all the things we want to do. But one thing is certain, there are only 24 hours in every day. It’s the same every single day. We can’t pack in more hours to make handling our to-do lists easier. But, we can manage our time wisely and let things go that aren’t as important, especially during this holiday season.
It means, putting some of my blogging goals on hold until after the holidays so that I don’t short change my family and rob them of time and attention.
It means shortening my holiday to do list and only keeping the things that my family truly enjoys doing. A tradition isn’t fun if it’s forced every year. Keep your holiday traditions narrowed down to ones that everyone enjoys and aren’t stressful.
It means making a daily list of what needs to be done, but being more realistic about what I can really do in our 24 hour days.
Time management during the holidays means making and prioritizing time for the things that matter and letting other things slide until next month. You have to be realistic about what you can really do in a day and cut the things that you can’t make happen.
Making Time
Here are a few things I plan to make time for this season:
Host a ladies ornament exchange in my home and try a new recipe. Lots of silly games will be played! This is important to me because it serves others and builds community.
Host a Christmas tea for my little girl and her friends. Annual traditions that make sweet memories build a strong family culture. She’s 6 now and I hope to still be doing this when she is 26!
Go out on a Christmas date with my man and reminisce over the past year
Make Ornaments with my kids for the annual cousin homemade ornament exchange
Continue teaching my kids about the true Hero story of Christmas
If you’re anything like me, you relish the thought of cooler air, changing leaves…and all of the wonderful (albeit fattening) foods of the fall and winter months. A cook’s thoughts turn towards braises, roasted meat and poultry, and let’s face it – those yummy side dishes that we allow ourselves to savor only during the holidays.
How can we still enjoy those fabulous comfort foods without throwing our healthy food routines down the drain? I am a firm believer in getting the most “bang from your calories”. Using a little bit of foods that a healthy eater may consider taboo can transport an okay dish to a fabulous one. Try to think of creative ways to get more flavor out of your traditional winter dishes – but not necessarily loads more calories.
Here’s to the autumn and its bounty, to winter for its lush and festive foods. Here’s to eating well and to cooking well. Enjoy this stuffed winter squash with a roasted chicken for a weeknight meal, add it to your menu for your Thanksgiving feast or serve at lunch for a filling and healthy main course.
To ramp up the flavors I have used a small bit of pancetta, which is an Italian bacon that has a tremendous salty, smoky flavor. And to help the dish’s flavors meld together, I’ve added some heavy cream. Small amounts of high flavor items make an ordinary pumpkin taste out of this world!
Look for “pie pumpkins” at your grocery store. They are more flavorful and have a much nicer texture than a “jack-o-lantern” pumpkin. Acorn squash is an excellent substitute as well. Here I show you a large acorn squash that I cut in two and stuffed. You could make individual small acorn squashes cooked in crème brulee ramekins to make it an extra special holiday side dish. Adding a small amount of cooked turkey Italian sausage makes this a hearty one-dish (or one pumpkin) meal.
¼ pound of stale, French or Italian bread, sliced and cut into ½-inch pieces
¼ pound cheese, Gruyere, Emmenthal, sharp cheddar or a combination, cut into 1- inch chunks
4 ounces, pancetta, chopped into ¼-inch pieces, cooked until crisp, drained, saving a teaspoon of fat in the pan
½ bunch of kale, washed dried, stems removed and thinly sliced and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
¼ cup of sliced green onions
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme, chopped (you can substitute or mix any fresh herb you prefer)
A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
⅓ cup heavy cream, you may need a bit more or a bit less, depending upon the size of your squash or pumpkin
Instructions
Using a very sharp and sturdy knife, cut a cap off of the pumpkin as if you were cutting a jack-o-lantern. If using large acorn squash, cut the squash in half, horizontally, so you have two equal sized halves.
Scrape the insides of the pumpkin or squash to removes any seeds or strings. (I love to use my avocado scoop to clean out pumpkin or squash. I don’t know if I’ve used it on an avocado.)
Season the inside of the pumpkin or squash generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place the pumpkin or squash on the prepared baking sheet or in individual baking dishes.
Heat the skillet that you used to brown the pancetta and add the kale, stirring and sautéing for a minute or two or until the kale wilts slightly.
Add the chopped garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Saute for another minute. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, toss together the kale mixture, bread, cheese, pancetta, green onions, fresh thyme, and freshly grated nutmeg. Add freshly ground black pepper, nutmeg and salt to taste. (The pancetta and cheese can be salty, so make sure to taste the filling before adding any additional salt.)
Pack the mixture into the pumpkin or squashes. Drizzle with the cream. You don’t want the ingredients to be too soggy or too dry, the filling should be nicely moist. You may need a tiny bit more or less of the cream.
Put the cap back on the pumpkin or squash, or cover the halved squash individually and snuggly with foil.
Place the individual dishes on the prepared sheet pan, or if you are not using dishes, place directly on the parchment covered pan
Bake at 350⁰ for about 2 hours. Check the squash or pumpkin at 90-minutes to see if flesh is easily pierced with the tip of a knife, and the filling is bubbling. Remove the cap of the pumpkin and the foil from the squash and allow to cook for about 20 minutes to brown the top of the stuffing.
Allow the squash or pumpkin to rest on the counter in the pan for about 10 minutes.
Notes
I like to cut the pumpkin into quarters and place on a plate. The filling can just be scooped out along with some of the pumpkin flesh and served next to your Thanksgiving turkey.
Kim Duhamel is a former cooking instructor who lives in Bentonville, Arkansas with her husband and pug. She has three married children and one granddaughter. She has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Massachusetts and an Associate’s degree in the Culinary Arts from NWACC. After being sidelined for about a year with a neck injury, she hopes to get back to teaching in 2016.
The theme this month here at ARWB is abundance. As I sat down and thought about what I wanted to share with all of you this month, the phrase “abundance of encouragement” kept coming to mind when I thought about the group at ARWB.
Blogging and this media world is hard. For me, it’s a constant struggle of time management and questioning myself on if my efforts are worth it. I take the time I have in a day seriously and I want to manage it well and not waste any of it on efforts that aren’t worth it. I have a deep desire to blog and would secretly (Shh… that’s a secret) like to get my podcast up and running. But when it comes to getting it all together, finding the time is a struggle. The desire and willingness to work is there, but I don’t have the time or the childcare to be able to carve out specific time to work on some of my big blogging/podcasting goals in this season of my life because of some other commitments I already have on my plate. So blogging or social media has to be done late at night or early in the morning. I sometimes question myself when I get overwhelmed— Is it worth it?
Does what I say matter?
Does what I say encourage anyone?
Is blogging a good use of my time?
Is starting my podcast a good use of time?
Will anyone listen?
Could what I say help someone?
How will all of this benefit my family? What will it cost them?
These are things that run through my head when I get overwhelmed and think about quitting.
But then, someone from ARWB always seems to send some encouragement my way. It’s not about the blog or web here at ARWB. It’s about the community that has been built with the purpose of encouraging one another in our adventures, whatever they may be. The friendships I’ve made through blogging are not online surface friendships, but real life face to face friendships that I fall back on and receive an abundance of encouragement from.
The community at ARWB is a huge factor that keeps me blogging.
The encouragement found in this group is like none other. It is a treasure that I do not take lightly. I’m thankful for the transparency, honesty, and support that is so openly given.
Thank You ARWB for being awesome and encouraging me to just BLOG ON.
How does ARWB encourage you?
As a side note- Thank You to everyone for the outpour of encouragement and support on The Women Bloggers store. Your encouragement and kind words are a gift!
The leaves have almost pushed off all their leaves while a few tough ones are holding on tightly. These tough guys want to make sure that fall has its day in the * ahem * sun.
Thanksgiving is knocking on the door and I love to relish in it. This national day of giving thanks is my personal favorite holiday with its traditions, its lack of commercialism, and the massive focus on foods. Seriously, is it any wonder why Thanksgiving is so beloved?
If green bean casserole using canned soup, canned mushrooms, and canned French-fried onions are on your tradition list, may I invite you to making it a bit healthier?
This version of green bean casserole starts off with no-sodium canned green beans. If you saved fresh beans from the garden, fantastic! For the rest of us, go with one of the many options now available to us with no-sodium. Also, there is no need for a cream of mushroom soup, with all of its additional sodium levels and added ingredients that are hard to pronounce. This version uses good old-fashioned fresh mushrooms, broth, and a bit of whipping cream.
Lyndi Fultz: Healthy Green Bean Casserole {Foodie Friday}
Ingredients
8 ounces of baby portobella mushrooms
1 large sweet Vidalia onion
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth (I use no-sodium)
4 cans of cut green beans, no salt added
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
¼ teaspoon sea salt
black pepper
4 shallots
1 tablespoon flour
Instructions
Wash and thinly slice mushrooms by separating the cap from the stem. Throw the stems in your compost pile.
Thinly slice onion and sauté with mushrooms on stovetop in a large skillet or saute pan with 1/3 cup olive oil and ¼ cup chicken broth on medium heat. Cover for 30 minutes and then remove lid and reduce heat to low.
Preheat oven to bake 350 degrees.
Drain cans of green beans and add to large mixing bowl.
Add ¼ cup chicken broth to mushrooms and add whip cream. Stir.
Add mushroom mixture to mixing bowl of green beans and lightly toss to incorporate. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add green bean mixture to large Pyrex baking pan and place in oven to bake for 20 minutes.
As casserole is baking, thinly slice shallots and separate into individual slices. Add to mixing bowl with flour and ¼ teaspoon salt and toss.
Reheat skillet on high heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil and add shallots. Toss until crispy and brown, approximately 5-10 minutes.
Remove casserole from oven and sprinkle sautéed shallots over entire surface and add back to the oven, baking for 5-10 minutes until perfectly done.
cheese omelets When I was a kid, my mom made runny, undercooked, boring scrambled eggs. I decided to take matters in my own hands and learned how to 1) make dry scrambled eggs and 2) kicked it up a notch and learned how to make cheese omelets. Never again did I have runny, undercooked, boring scrambled eggs. Thanks mom!
What is your favorite international cuisine?
slow food from France and Italy I like the country rustic fare from just about anywhere: fresh fish plucked from the sea, lightly but perfectly seasoned, wine with brie and fruit and long conversations, and whole chicken simmered in broth with garlic. I can appreciate fancy food yet I fall in love with simplicity that is delicious.
What is always in your refrigerator at home?
good, grass-fed butter whole whipping cream parmesan cheese farm eggs large curd cottage cheese whole milk plain yogurt brussel sprouts thyme minced garlic in a jar (what, you didn’t think I always mince my own garlic, did you?)
What is your go-to ingredients that you use time and time again?
What is a cooking tip that you would like to share with beginning cooks?
Sign up for Cook’s Illustrated because they will absolutely teach you how to cook
When you’re not cooking, what are your favorite pastimes?
kayaking, fishing or just hanging out in the lake, remodeling, landscaping, going for drives with my husband and hanging out with family.
What else would you like us to know about you? I need a clutter-free zone to function properly.
Arkansas Women Blogger member Lyndi Fultz writes about living and eating well from her life in beautiful Northwest Arkansas at nwafoodie. Much of her blogging inspiration comes from this gem of a place, which she refers to as the proverbial land of milk-and-honey. Read more related to cooking, entertaining, gadget suggestions, ingredient explorations, local finds, local restaurant treasures, kitchen tour spotlights, and always with a healthy and simplistic approach.
My friendship post was all set. Listing how others have changed my life for the better was easy — and lovely.
Then it happened. Bennie Campbell died. She died.
As a friend and neighbor she was really just a beautiful soul. No one loved to do for others like Bennie. She would call me and countless others and ask, “Is there anything I can do to help you today?”
How many friends say that to you on a daily basis? I’ll bet not many. How many do you ask if you can help daily?
Count each time someone has said something at just the right time, when needed most.
Just a few of my most abundant and amazing friendship gifts, WORDS.Words better than any gift one can receive.These are all very personal. I remember them, I remember the time and I remember where I was.
These words have assisted me in changing the trajectory of my life.
Doug Smith, Nashville, Tennessee: “Is there anything I can do for you that will make your life easier?”
Bill Gaither, Indianapolis and Nashville, when my Mother was going into heart surgery: “Do you need anything, anything at all?”
Virginia Newton, Copenhagen, upon my beating myself up one day: “You are perfect.” (Actually she’s the pretty perfect one!)
Carolyn Staley, Little Rock: “Laws don’t change people, hearts do.”
Debra Brawner, Nashville: “I sure miss you more than ever now.”
My Mother in Heaven, during the last month of her life: “I want to thank you for taking such good care of me.”
Ben Broyles, Conway: “Are you okay?” weeks after the death of my Mother, when he appeared at my front door to check on me.
Ruth Brooks Langford, Conway: “Are you okay? I love you.”
Jeremy Becker-Welts, Washington, DC: “Next time you need ANYTHING and you want to get hold of me quickly send me a text to XXX. I consider myself lucky to be able to help you.
Phyllis Hoffman DePiano, Birmingham, Alabama: “I love you. Know you are missing your Mom, you were a faithful daughter. You are precious.”
Scott Stewart, Denver: “Anything is possible.”
Cody Sublett, Conway: “Are you okay?”
Mikie McLendon, Magnolia, upon my arguing, crying for her NOT to do something: “How can I not help you with this?”
Of course she DID what she does. Thankfully!
And these people have shown loyalty is in their DNA at times when I needed it most:
David Phelps, Darren Irby, Stacey Scheirer, Ron Greene, Deborah Evans Price, Nancy May, Gary Price, Scott Stewart, Paris Broyles, Marjie McGraw, Angela Relder, Linda Thompson, Tracy Collins, Madeline Bell, Gary Robinson, Chris Reynolds, Kelly Van Patter, Marcia Minor, and on and on. I am a lucky girl.
Which leads me back to the night Bennie Campbell died. We could not find phone numbers for her daughters.
Here’s what happened: Paris Broyles called me; I called Patti Stobaugh; Patti tracked down a family member in Russellville who then reached her daughters.
Called Steve Norris, Minister at Robinson and Center where Bennie attended.
Bennie did not die alone — Patti and David Stobaugh; Paris and Ben Broyles; Steve Norris; Elizabeth and Mark Copeland with their daughter Kinsey; and me.
We waited for her daughters, Holly and Heather, surrounding them with love as Bennie had done for all of us so many times.
Bennie Campbell enjoyed an abundance of friends, she was loved by many. How lucky we were to have her friendship.
Will others say the same about us?
One day at a time, one friendship at a time. As Charlie Daniels says, “Let’s make the day count.”
Yes, Charlie, let’s.
Brenda McClain is Gallery Director for Art on the Green, the art vortex for Central Arkansas. She covers the lives of bloggers in her column for 501 Life magazine. Her blog, brendamcclain.com tells about her life and experiences in the Entertainment Business as the former CEO for MPR, a Nashville, Tn. based Public Relations agency.
You will usually find her reading the day’s headlines, drinking an espresso in Art on the Green.
Stacey is a wife, mom, and public health professional. She lives in North Little Rock with her husband Anthony and their four daughters. Her life’s motto is “Live big. Love deep.” Her blog is a hodgepodge of adoption, cooking, travel, shopping and parenting posts. You can find her online at…
Getting to Know Your ARWB Foodies
Brenda McClain is Gallery Director for Art on the Green, the art vortex for Central Arkansas. She covers the lives of bloggers in her column for 501 Life magazine. Her blog,