Social Media Goddess: How Instagram Is Changing My Life (And How It Can Change Yours Too)

January 27, 2012 By 1 Comment
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How Is Instagram Changing My Life? Let me count the ways.

It’s helping me Practice Presence and be the Evolved and Conscious Goddess Mama I want to be.

One of the ways I wanted to be Present this year was to take photos of all the moments I love about my life. I started doing this last year with our big old camera but when my husband gave me his Iphone, the ease of using it for taking photos won me over. Instagram has given me an outlet to make a public declaration of my intentions to be All Here. There has not one day that has gone by that I’ve forgotten to take a photo and with every snapshot, I fall in love with Life, my Life in particular, over and over again. Celebrating each moment is becoming as normal as breathing for me, and I’m slowly starting to make it a habit to pay attention to What is.

It’s helping me see how Beautiful this world truly is.

So closely tied to being Present, photography has helped opened my eyes to see and behold the Beauty in our Lives. I swear, the Universe reveals what we are ready to See. And when we pay attention? Almost everything magically becomes beautiful in some shape or form. Even the painful and seemingly mundane.

It’s helping me channel my Inner Creatix everyday.

If I’m doing something in the kitchen or creating with my daughter, I’m inspired to make it beautiful and photo-worthy. It reminds me to ask myself this question, “how can I make this lovely?” I used to cringe at the thought of “staging” things but I now see it as an art form, an expression of the Beauty we see in the world. Art is not art if it’s not shared. Instagram has given me an opportunity to share my Everyday Art, no matter how big or small,  with whoever it is meant to touch. (And I get to see and be touched by other people’s Art too!!!)

The Take Away

Don’t be afraid of social media. I know for some people, it seems so contradictory of a claim that social media is helping me be more present. But that has been my experience. Social media, just like any other tool, can be used to feed our appetites and addictions towards something useful or well, useless. Sure, I have tendencies to be too connected online, but for as long as it’s helping me reach my goals and live life my way, I will use it.

So play with me on Instagram? I’m MamaVina.

Next Week: How Blogging Is Changing My Life

Your Turn: How do you use social media in your life? Do you feel like you have things under control? As usual, sharing is kind. Spread the word if you dig this post.

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Filed Under: DIY + Handmades

Make It Lovely: Forget Minimalist Living. Adorn Your Home With Art

January 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

There’s been a swing in our culture as of late. From senseless consuming to living off-the-grid/getting-rid-of-everything/moving-into-RV’s sort of swing.

But there’s a middle ground, you see.

Simple living doesn’t have to be bland, plain and uninspired. Simplicity is meant to free us towards Presence.

Being Present to the world means to be alive to all that is Beautiful.

And sometimes, it all starts with choosing something Functional to be Beautiful as well.

Starting with something as simple as a calendar.

(This beautiful calendar hangs in my office/studio and is handcrafted by Nikki McClure, a local artist in Olympia, WA.)

Your Turn: What would you like to make lovely today? Do tell.

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Filed Under: Make It Lovely

How To Have Your Cake And Enjoy Every Bite Without The Crazies (Or A Yummy Grain-Free Sugar-Free White Bean Cupcake Recipe)

January 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

WHITE BEAN CUPCAKE

For the month of January, my family went through a Detox using principles from the GAPS diet. Basically, you avoid everything that is hard on the gut (grains, sugar, processed foods) and you eat a LOT of food that is good to your gut (broth-based, lots of cultured food, veggies, pastured meat and wild seafood.) We did pretty good, but after a month, my husband who loves Pizza and such is ready to go back to his comfort foods.

Going grain-free is hard in our grain-loving culture. But oh it feels really good! I feel so much healthier and more energetic. We ate a whole lot more veggies to replace the grain portion on our plates. But since I don’t want my family to feel deprived, we’re slowly including grains back in our diet but much more selectively and if I can help it, prepared properly (soaking/sprouting/souring).

Alternatively, I’ve also used beans in cakes and cupcake recipes with much success. For my daughter’s first birthday, I used black beans and it was a hit. I’ll share that for another time. Today, we’re getting our munchies from a Vanilla Flavored Cupcake using white beans!

This recipe packs fiber, protein and the goodness of coconut oil! Try to use free-range and organic eggs if you can. My little test taster approved and ate about 3 of them one after another! And did I mention this baby is sugar-free?

White Bean Cupcake

Adapted from Spunky Coconut

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin liners/cups in muffin baking pan.

2. Mix in a bowl and set aside:

  • 1/3 cup coconut flour, sifted
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 2 tsp baking soda

3. Mix in a food processor:

  • 2 cups cooked white beans, room temperature (you can use canned beans if you’d like)
  • 6 eggs
  • 1-2 drops of liquid stevia or about 3/4 teaspoon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 3-4 teaspoons of applesauce
  • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil (room temperature) or butter

4. Add dry ingredients and puree well.

5.  Pour into muffin pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 12-15 minutes.

6. Let it cool and have at it! Yum Yum Yum!

Your Turn: Please let me know if you get around to trying this recipe and enjoyed it!!! Comment luv below appreciated and of course, sharing (on Facebook or however you fancy) is the only kind thing to do.

P.S. This post is part of Kelly’s Real Food Wednesdays and Kimi’s PennyWise Platter.

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Filed Under: Homemade Treats

Velveteen Mama Diaries: The Practice of Presence With Very Young Children (Or How to Carpe the Heck out of Motherhood)

January 24, 2012 By 6 Comments

Making Applesauce with Miss N

Living consciously with our little ones is one of the best gifts we can give them. Our Presence, more than anything, is what they treasure most. Very young children are very impressionable and not only do they imitate what they see,  they also absorb with very little filter what surrounds them in their everyday life.

And so how we are Present in our home and with their company is how they learn to be Present to this world as well. If I find myself bored, resentful or stressed out towards the tasks at hand, then my child will take in what Sharifa Oppenheimer calls the Inner Gesture I am displaying and will imitate this very same attitude intuitively. In one of my favorite books on conscious parenting, Heaven on Earth: A Handbook for Parents of Young Children, she writes:

Does she see care in my bodily rhythm as I bend toward the task or does she see a hurried duty? Does she see pleasure in the task or resentment? What inner gesture will she imitate?

I have this written on my little planner to remind myself every so often, especially when I’m finding something particularly tedious, such as folding the laundry yet again. It’s a practice in exulting the monotony, in embracing the Now and being 100% Present to What Is.

It’s All Very Simple. Just Pay Attention.

Pay attention to your Inner Gesture. If your Inner Gesture is not what you’d like it to be, ask yourself what you need. For example, I’ve given myself permission to NOT do a task I just can’t enjoy at the moment. If I need some time and space to shift my mind towards an Inner Gesture worth imitating, then I give myself that. Or perhaps I need to find a more creative way of getting something done, or doing something in a way that I can enjoy. Or altogether delegating it. Or perhaps I simply haven’t taken good care of myself and need to do some self-tending.

Presence, not Productivity, I remind myself. The latter will happen when I keep the main thing the main thing.

Life with children does not have to be endured. It’s totally possible to enjoy each moment with our children.  I’m really tired of this mantra: motherhood is hard.  That it’s too lofty of a goal to carpe the heck out of this diem. Motherhood is only hard if you want it to be.

It doesn’t mean that we don’t have chaotic moments. It only means that we can embrace even the chaos, trusting that Joy is still possible no matter what. Because there’s always Joy in the Now. And that’s where true Power lies. It might mean giving up an expectation here and there and letting go of the Shoulds that drive our life so much.

And it all begins with embracing What Is. The Practice of Presence.

If we are Present to whatever is in front of us, Purpose and Pleasure inevitably follow. Child-rearing included.

Your Turn: Do you agree? How do you Practice being Present with your children? Do you find it makes a difference? As usual, sharing is the only kind thing to do if you dig this post. So share away.

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Filed Under: Velveteen Mama Diaries

The Year of the Dress is Calling Your Name

January 23, 2012 By 10 Comments

I don’t know how many times I wore a dress in 2011. Maybe once?

And I find that incredibly tragic.

Mostly because I’m finding out how magical I feel when I step into a dress that fits my body and feels right in every way.

And since this year is going to be the year of Presence and Pleasure for me, I’m going a little bit crazy in the clothes department and I’m making it a goal for the rest of the year to wear only dresses (skirts are included because they possess the same magick for me), if I can help it.

Oh yes, I’m totally embracing my crazy this year. Join me?

The Why: It Feels Good

If you missed it above, I’ll say it again: wearing dresses (and skirts) instantly make me feel beautiful. And just because I’m a mama who wipes poopy butts for my day job among many other things does not mean I don’t want to feel beautiful. I grew up believing in Doing Good. And I still do. But now I marry it with Feeling Good. They just go together, you know?

And so I hereby declare it the Year of the Dress simply because it feels so dang good.

The Why: It’s Art

Dressing up (almost) everyday also gives me another outlet for my creativity. It is arguably an everyday art form. It’s a way to express ourselves and I’m going to squeeze every possible opportunity I can in any given day to do just that. Especially as mamas, we are constantly nourishing and giving out energy. Art that speaks to us feeds our souls, and if dressing up puts some sparkle back in our eyes? Why the heck not?

The Why: It Matters

Dressing up (almost) everyday forces me out of my auto-pilot mood when I get ready in the morning. It’s as if I’m sending big bold message to myself and to the universe in this intentional act. And that message is this: that I matter. That My Presence matters. That My Pleasure matters. This seemingly small choice, this seemingly insignificant moment standing before the mirror and deciding how to dress myself, matters.

And where this message counts the most is what our little ones take away from it. Especially our daughters. See the next Why.

The Why: It’s Feminine Empowerment

I’m also on a journey towards returning to my Feminine Essence, something many of us women have lost touch with living still in a heavily patriarchal world (sadly). We’ve fought to be equals with men, but on their terms and not ours. We literally reshaped our feminine body to fit in a man’s world in so many spirit-numbing ways. While reconnecting with my Feminine Essence does not mean that I should be obsessed about my body, it does mean that I care for it as I would any other gift given to me.

 

The How: Almost Everyday

I tend to aim for the impossible, and originally, my plan was to wear a dress every single day of the year. But I’m learning to be a bit more realistic so that my grandiose plans can be more sustainable. So instead of the Daily Dress Challenge, I’m calling this one the Year of the Dress Challenge. I’m aiming for wearing a dress (or again, a skirt) 4-5 times a week. I’m going to dress up as if I’m going to work outside the home during the weekdays. I’ll be saving my jeans and sneakers for those times I know I need to get really dirty or sweaty.

The How: Thrifted and Handmade

I try to be a conscious spender and this challenge is not about sanctioning a shopping spree every week. I’m mostly relying on my current stash of clothes (although I did update my wardrobe most recently for this particular challenge.)

I’m pretty aware of labor and environmental issues surrounding the fashion industry. I love People Tree, but sadly, I can’t afford their stuff just yet. So I’m mostly counting on my second-hand finds. I’m also (slowly) learning how to sew and the plan is to sew my own clothes in the distant future!

The How: Your Participation In The Sisterhood

If you are a mama who hardly pays attention to how you dress yourself, maybe this one is for you. If any of my Whys resonate with you in some shape or form, take heed. Pay attention. Maybe it’s time to focus on this much neglected area in your life. To reclaim your Beauty. Will you join me in declaring that our Presence and our Pleasure matters?

I’ll be taking photos of what my outfits and sharing them here weekly. I’ll also be sharing the inner journey along the way. And I hope you do too. You can simply share your link to your photo or post in the comments section. I’ll be sure to read them all and maybe do a recap of all the entries the following week. You can also join me on Instagram if you have an Iphone and simply snap away your photo of the day with the hashtag #yearofthedress #whatiwore.

I don’t want to do this alone. I really want other like-hearted mamas to do this with. Oh wait a minute. Others are already doing it. Like Megan.

Anyone else out there?

Don’t be shy! Come play with me! And let me know in the comment section below if you want to join the Year of The Dress Edition. You can alter/bend/flex the rules as you see fit. However way it pleases you. My intention is to create more Presence and Pleasure in our lives and hopefully this is one small and (did I mention super fun?) way to do so.

If you have a blog and want to join me, here’s a little button you can use  to spread the word:

button

Copy and Paste Code

So who’s brave enough to join me?

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Filed Under: Sacred Sexy Self Care, Year of the Dress Tagged With:

Hello 2012: Coming Home To Presence, Purpose and Pleasure

January 22, 2012 By 10 Comments

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.

And I’m hoping it’s been true for you.

Because it’s been true for me.

I’ve been long gone from this space and I’ve really missed it. And I missed you.

But sometimes, we need to step back to gain perspective and clarity and I’ve been really needing that for awhile now. I just couldn’t keep plugging away without a clear vision and intention for this space. There’s so much that has changed from when I started this blog and I really wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep going. It’s not exactly the “brand” that captures where I am now and certainly not where I want to take this blog. While I still hold dear to my heart all the things I valued back in the beginning, there has so much that shifted. The context and vision for my mothering and homemaking are now completely different.

That, and there is so much more I want to explore and offer on this blog.

To Re-Brand Or Not To Re-Brand

I’ve been so tempted to “re-brand” and start over.  I’ve been wanting  a new domain and blog name for the longest time  - something that communicates more accurately my vision for this space. There is wisdom in that, especially since I’ve been really wanting to (1) marry my passions around a central theme (2) build a business around  those passions + all that I’m really good at and (3) create a tight-knit community of like-hearted mamas around said theme.

Except a big part of me wants to hold on, to all 309 posts, to all the amazing mamas that make this blog worth coming back to, to all that this blog still means to me.

It’s a dance really. Sort of how I’m dancing in the tension of holding on to some remnants of my childhood faith while letting go of the rest that just don’t work for me anymore. How does one even go about doing that?

But here’s what I’ve come to realize. Everything in this life is always shifting. We’re all in a constant flux, really. Each season on earth comes and goes, just like each season in our lives that brings about something new and lets go of something old.

In many ways, we are all constantly evolving. We’re no different from our children, whose growth is perhaps only more pronounced because they have not yet forgotten how  to live in the Present.  We are growing up as much, even just a little bit every single day.

I’ve also come to realize that I want my new “branding” to evolve organically instead of forcing to birth it on my own time table. My current blog brand (anourishinghome.com) won’t fully capture all of me and all that I want to experience and offer in this Life. But why let that stop me?  Instead, I’m redefining my current “brand” and making it to mean what I what it to mean. For now.

(If I’ve lost you in all that branding verbiage, it’s okay. It will still make sense I promise.)

A Nourishing Home = Coming Home To Our Feminine Essence

Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz says it best, “There is no place like home.” And yet like her, most of us venture far and wide to seek That which we already possess. That place where we have everything we need is here, at Home: the Home we find within ourselves, the Home we came into this world- our Body (and a Feminine one),  the Home we discover in the Gifts with which we can serve the world, the Home we build with our  Family and  the Home we seek among the Sisterhood of like-hearted women around the world. Where we get lost and confused, we’ve strayed away from this Home, the center of our Wisdom and our True Feminine Essence. Home is the intersection of the Divine and the Human that we are all made of, and it is where all our True Longings come from and are magically met.

I want this blog to be a space for women and moms  everywhere who have heard that call to return Home, back to who we Truly are as Women and as Goddesses of sorts. We’ve been on an exile far too long. The world has suffered from our Absence. It’s time to click those Red Shoes, dear Mamas (except you gotta get em out of your back closet first and wear em!). The return Home starts Here, in acknowledging and healing the Wounds,  in embracing all that We Are, and in finally Honoring, Celebrating and Offering our Feminine Essence we’ve so long held back from the world. Here, we will explore all that we are created for as women, daughters, wives, mothers, beginning with Presence, Purpose, and of course Pleasure. Yum Yum.

I want this blog to be A Nourishing Home for us all.

Want to come on this beautiful ride with me and make this our best year evah yet?

Blog Intentions for 2012

So after a long hiatus, I’m back to blogging daily. Yes. That is my commitment. Starting today, I’m here every single day. Even if I’m just sharing a photo or a quote to inspire you to live big, bold and beautiful!

I’m also working on my first e-course to offer on this blog and I’m hoping to hold a women’s circle online where a group of us can pursue our intentions for a life of Presence, Purpose and Pleasure (or whatever your intentions are!) together. I’ve been doing this sort of thing and didn’t realize that I’ve been a coach my whole life – since grade school days! I love inspiring women to live fully and I just sort of got side-tracked when I stopped living mine that way.

SoI wanted to share some things I’m drawn to explore for this year (a year is a mighty long time so know these things might change!) and I’d LOVE for you to tell me which things you are drawn to and why. That would be mighty fabulous of you!

Nourishing Our Feminine Essence

  • I Am Goddess: If you dare, come explore Feminine Spirituality with me! Here, we’ll dive into healing, happiness and health for women. I also want to seek ways to hold on to Jesus, my childhood Companion and Teacher while following Truth wherever it leads me.
  • Rooted and Radiant Sisterhood: This one is all about Sacred Sexy Self-Care For Moms – where we dig into radical self love, except we do it together!!!! I want to share how I self-healed my depression and fatigue and for every mom who feels worn out and burnt out, this one is for you.
  • NIA Notes: I’m on a (looong) journey to become a NIA instructor one day and I want to share my practice of NIA as a recovering dancer. This one is about learning to inhabit our bodies in Presence and Pleasure.
  • Year of the Dress Edition: I’ll explain more but since the start of the year, I’ve been wearing a dress a day (for the most part.) And it’s a challenge I want to extend you all lovelies. I also took a sewing class  a few months ago and I just LOVED it. I want to sew more. The plan is to learn how to sew my own basic clothes. Wouldn’t that be so fun?

Nourishing Motherhood

  • Velveteen Mama Diaries : Of course, how can this blog exist without mama confessions ? I spill the beautiful and the not so. The stuff that motherhood is all about: working out our own dramas so we can raise our children without them. :)
  • Magical Childhood: Here, I share how I’m pursuing Presence and Pleasure in my  everyday life with 3 year old. I will share photos of the small joys and wonders (and of course, the chaos)  that comes with childhood.
  • Learning Together: I’m gearing up to be a home-schooling mama and I want to share my research here (on learning and child development), if only to help me solidify my reasons for doing so. I want our homeschooling experience to be full of the P’s (words I’ve already used a lot in this post so I’ll try to use them less…except it’s so hard not to!) And I want to interview other mamas who are doing it. I hope to attract a community of eclectic homeschooling mamas who share my obsession with the P’s. :)

Nourishing Food

  • Visual Weekly Menu: I’m not sure about this yet but I’m going to experiment sharing our weekly menu visually, meaning photos.  I’ve been taking SO MANY PHOTOS of our food and I need an outlet! I haven’t quite decided yet whether I’ll be a week ahead in real life so I can share the photos of food I’ve already made…I’m leaning towards that but we’ll see.
  • Healthy Treats: We love to bake yummies made a bit more healthy and it seems like I get asked the recipes for these said indulgences. Sugar gives me the crazies, not Pleasure so I’ve learned to bake without it! I’ll share my tips here!
  • Real Food Hacks: If you’re a mama who likes to learn how to transition to whole food and traditional cooking without the guilt and angst, I’ll share hacks I’m learning right here. How to make healthy eating fun? (Oh yes, we did the GAPS diet this January and now we are done! We did it just to detox but we’re moving on. Still eating lots of broth-based food and cultured stuff but hello grains! We’ve missed you!)
  • Small Bites: And finally, snack and lunch ideas for the littles. Because they eat like every couple of hours, you know? And I need the reminder to make it as  fun as I could because it feels like feeding the little is all I do some days.

Nourishing Homemaking

  • Make It Lovely: My home is pretty minimalist and I am in the mood to go from drab to fab! My old minimalist philosophy is still somewhat alive, but I’m onto braver and bolder ideas: I want to be surrounded by Beauty if I can help it. And that includes my home. It doesn’t mean I have to fork out a lot of money, nor does it mean I totally abandon my sense of simplicity. So far we’ve been transforming the rooms into our house slowly but surely into something more lovely! Presence and Pleasure in the small things!
  • Generous Homemaking: This one is simply about extending that Presence and Pleasure lifestyle to the world at large, most especially to others who need it most. I’m going really crazy by considering Foster Parenting again (oh, and I’m back at nanny-ing once more! I tell you, most of our suffering is in our mind! I’m back to loving it again!)…there has to be a reason why it’s in my heart, right? I’m also wanting to learn how to become a better neighbor. Because honestly? I haven’t been. How does a recluse build community right where she is? She can’t! So, how do I quit being a recluse and still honor my need for space and solitude? And finally, I want to tackle the issue of Helping without Harming. Something I’ve been passionate about since my missionary days. Because really? Not all Helping really helps.
  • A Home More Natural: Oh yes, I’ve been tinkering into homemade remedies lately. I have scalp psoriasis and I refuse to put tar on it! So I’ve gotten myself into herbs and such...Susun Weed is a good teacher but I have so much to learn! I want to expore more about natural health for families…vaccines and such and how that all ties in with..yup, you guessed it, Presence, Purpose and Pleasure! 

Nourishing Livelihood

  • Social Media and Blogging Goddess: I didn’t realize this but I’ve been blogging for what? 8 years now! And did you know that I started my own website in 1996? Yup. So needless to say, I’ve got some stuff to share in this department. (Oh, and I’m on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram a lot. Hang out with me there? And I want to learn how to live it up on Twitter vewy vewy soon.)
  • Conscious Entrepreneur + Passion-Based Work: I‘m learning SO darn much in bits and pieces about working for yourself and centering your work around your purpose and passion. But there is so much to learn! So, I’m hoping to interview women who are rocking both business and home life. I’m out to prove that  we can have it all!

Nourishing Family

  • Happily Ever After: I don’t feel qualified to give marriage advice ever, only to share our story as honestly as I could. We have our struggles, but this is the year I want to be MORE about happiness in our marriage. More ooh-la-la-la and orgasmic joy in all proportions.
  • Merry Family: Simple family time is what we’re all about. How to pursue Presence, Purpose and Pleasure as a family? How to slow down and enjoy the simplest things together?

Nourishing Art 

  • Everyday Creatix: Oh yeah, one of my intentions for the year is to CREATE something beautiful every single delicious day of my life. Whether it’s a drawing, an outfit, well-strewn words, a story or something yummy in the kitchen, I’m chanelling my Inner Creatix instead of Consumer from Hell. Create with me?
  • I Have A Dream: I’m retracing my way back to my childhood dreams and making them happen. Like, how I’m dancing again.  And other magnificent stuff. Photos, inspired vignettes of amazing people who are doing it too. Weekly steps I’m taking and what I’m learning how to make it happen.

This and That:

  • Giveaways  + Reviews: We’re rounding up sponsors for this blog, and I’m on a hunt for like-minded ventures, art and projects to showcase here. Stuff and services that make the world a lovelier place. Some of you ladies have juicy art I’m eyeing and I’ll be emailing you soon.

Whew. So that’s that. What say you? Are you in? Let’s make this the year we live our big, bold and beautiful lives, shall we?


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Filed Under: Blogging + Social Media, This + That

Merry Christmas! (And A Little Holiday Break!)

December 20, 2011 By 2 Comments
Merry Christmas

Photo by Jennifer Donley

I’m a little bit late in telling you, but perhaps you already figured that I’ve decided to be on break for most of this month. (I hope to do better with more timely announcements next year!) To be fair, I wasn’t planning on it, but we got hit by a nasty bug the past couple of weeks and I don’t do well when I’m sick. Like, I turn into the world’s grouchiest mom and I lose all sense of patience and kindness and other evolved consciousness of some sort. Like, I just want to hang a sign on the door of my bedroom to pretty please just leave me alone in bed for days. And to only knock if you have some warm soup to offer. Alas, 3-year olds can’t read (nor follow) such signs.

Now that everyone is recovered, I’m tempted to choose between playing catch up with everything I think I am supposed to be doing, OR simply enjoying the last weeks of 2011 before welcoming in the new year. And I choose the latter. There is so much to reflect on, let go, learn from and celebrate. And infinitely more to look forward to.

I’m also still confused about what to celebrate about Christmas, let alone how to celebrate it so this year, we’ll be defaulting to how we’ve always celebrated it: with extended family and of course, good food.  No handmade gifts this year, but I did manage to practice conscious spending and bought most of my gifts at Ten Thousand Villages.

Come next year, I’m thinking tropical beaches. Or something like that. I want to see what it would be like to NOT participate in Christmas at all and not feel like a total scrooge.  Hmmm. We’ll see.

But for now, I send you all the warmest holiday greetings!!!! Thank you so much for making this year awesome and for being the encouragement I need to keep writing! I have magical plans  brewing for this blog and for y’all this coming year and I’m excited to make them happen. I’ll be back when the New Year rolls around.

Love and Light,
Vina

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Easy Peasy Homemade Pear Butter: No Sugar No Canning Necessary

December 7, 2011 By 3 Comments

Note: OMG. What a crazy day. Little girl didn’t take a nap today and now I know what they mean by the witching hour. There is no way I’m going to give up her naps anytime soon, if I can help it. I don’t know how you moms with more than one young child manage nap times, but I’m so thankful I only have a few more days to go juggling two! Anyway, today, I wanted to take a break from all that holiday baking and sugar. (Oh sugar, I hate and love you. One day soon, I shall have to say good-bye forever.) So for anyone else who loves pear butter like I do, here’s an easy peasy recipe for you!

I love easy. Easy = Ease = PLEASurE. (Although not necessarily always.)

So today I bring you an easy (if not the easiest!) way to make your very own homemade pear butter. Minus the sugar (yes!) and minus the…canning! This can make lovely gifts for those avoiding sugar, or at least trying to.

A word about Fermenting
If you are like me and have put off learning how to can because the whole process just seems so…hard, then I have some really good news for you! FERMENTATION to the rescue! Preserving foods the old school way was how our ancestors made the best of the harvest or the kill without refrigeration or heat. Through fermentation, not only can you preserve the good stuff that is often destroyed by high heat or processing that is often done to mass produced products like ketchup and the likes (which traditionally was made through fermentation),  you also add the benefit of live cultures that are good for our gut health.

Plus did I mention how easy it was?  Now for the recipe:

Easy Peasy Homemade Pear Butter (Sugar-Free!)

(From Nourishing Traditions, see resources below)

Ingredients:

4 cups unsulphured dried pear

1 Tablespoon of sea salt

1/4 cup of whey, or more salt (I used about 2 teaspoons)

1/4-1/2 cup raw honey

Directions:

Cook pears in filtered water until soft. Let it cool slightly and transfer with a slotted spoon to food processor or blender. Process with remaining ingredients. Taste for sweetness and add more honey if necessary. Place in a quart sized wide mouth mason jar.  Make sure pear butter is at least 1 inch below the tops of the jars. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature on your kitchen shelf for about 2 days before transferring to the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Recommended Books for Reading
Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats
Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods
Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage, and Lactic Fermentation

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Attachment Parenting Series: I Wonder. I Trust.

December 6, 2011 By 10 Comments

Note: I woke up in the middle of the night itching to write this. A rare occurrence so I thought I’d best follow it. If this speaks to you, do comment below so I know my middle-of-the-night waking is not in vain. :)

Sometimes, I wonder.

Whether or not my kind of parenting (also known as attachment parenting) has made any good difference in my daughter’s life.

Is she better for having slept next to me the past 3 years as opposed to her own bed? Does it matter that she never cried herself to sleep? That she is still nursing when so many other young children her age have stopped at 6 months if they are lucky? That she’s been home with me all her life when most of her peers are in pre-school already if not in daycare at a much earlier age? That I’ve never put her in time out and generally try to avoid punishment and rewards as a way to discipline? That I try to connect instead of coerce, understand instead of undermine her will, model how I want her to be instead of making her behave as I wish? That I try to follow my heart instead of listening to experts that are eager to tell me how to parent?

I’ve read many a book and blogs that testify to the wonders of Attachment Parenting (technically, staying at home does not count towards attachment parenting but in my book, it definitely counts towards attachment and more). And in part, the allure of having a really close bond with my daughter won me over as much as the idea of giving her a strong sense of self that comes with rootedness in her attachments. Beginning with her attachment to me. My metaphor for parenting has been that of a big mighty oak stretching out to the heavens, but foremost grounded deeply in the ground. The grounding part is what I believe I’m called to do right now.

While I’ve seen and experienced how our relationship is making a difference in the way she is learning about life, both the seen and unseen parts of it, I still wonder.

Would she know what she knows now, and what she would know deep in her soul years later, if I never went through the trouble of grounding her this way? And if she doesn’t, would she eventually know anyway just as I have? Would grace find her the way it found me?

Whenever I look at the young boy I’m caring for (5 more days left!) and I think about the time he has spent with me, not his mother, I wonder.

Is any of it making any difference?

I can’t be certain for her, but I know it is for me.

:: Pause ::

Parenting is not easy, but doing it the “Attachment Parenting” way seems to require a bit more sacrifice on first glance. Some days, when I count the cost and start to wonder whether any of it was unnecessary, I doubt my parenting path.

I don’t wish to condemn any parent who has made parenting choices different from mine. I believe that we are exactly where we need to be in our journeys and that we are all growing up so beautifully in our own unique ways. I believe there is always a good reason for our choices, even if we don’t quite understand them fully. I’m sure that the pull towards Attachment Parenting was not always purely altruistic on my part (some co-dependent tendencies needing to heal? the allure of rebelling against the status quo?). But it nonetheless magically pulled me in and I have knowingly set the course my daughter is on.

And unknowingly set the course my soul would take. Because this kind of parenting, whatever you wish to call it, has changed me inside out. It has helped me see that every action we take is almost always both physical AND spiritual. That it’s never just one or the other. It has helped me see what it means to be born again, to be like a child, to honor and embrace and celebrate childhood just as much as we do adulthood. It has helped me see that meeting a need is important, whether they belong to a 30something-year old or a 3-year old. And whether or not we deem them epic or small. And most especially, it has helped me trust that there is always a way. A way to meet those needs, especially when they appear to be conflicting at the moment. And that it just takes small, courageous, creative and conscious efforts on our part to find that happy holy way.

And so while I wonder about all these things, I also have to Trust.

Not so much in the wonders of Attachment Parenting, but in myself. In my Conscious Intentions. In Growth. In the Wisdom that has guided my way. In the Divine Voice that has gently nudged, corrected, encouraged and strengthened. In the Grace that makes all things Good. In the Love that makes all things Beautiful.

:: The End ::

What about you? Are you an Attachment Parent too? How has it changed your life? Please share!

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Healing the Wounded Feminine: How the (Evangelical) Church Lost Me

December 4, 2011 By 13 Comments

“You become the woman you are supposed to be when you own who you are. You are sometimes arrogant and sometimes amazing. You’re sometimes together but more often coming apart at the seams. All you have to do is approve. You might be loving and tender; you might be a raging bitch. Don’t hold back either way. You are your gift to the world.” — Nicole Daedone

Sunday morning rolls in and I’m somewhat used to not having to go to church anymore. We usually have no plans set and depending on the weather, we follow our longings to set the day for us. Our family may head out to walk on the beach, set out for the market, eat the best French pastries in the city (Bakery Nouveau in my humble opinion), or like today, I’m letting my little girl watch some PBS shows while my husband makes the most awesome quiche and I, well, lounge on the couch and write my heart away.

:: Pause ::

I stopped going to church (and by church I mean the church I grew up in, the evangelical christian kind) because my heart bled and broke to pieces every time I went. I had to hold my breathe for two hours before I can finally let go and be me. Be the angry-and-wounded-feminine-whose-wounds-have-not-yet-healed-and-turned-to-scars-me. I truly wish I can bypass this icky hurting part of the process, that I can just magically appear on the other side where I am scarred yet whole and empowered.  Where all is forgiven.

But I can’t.

At least not yet.

(Oh, we also stopped going to church because we have a 3 year old. Which is a whole nother post for later.)

:: Pause ::

Like you, I’m on a journey and I’m committed to honoring that journey and meeting myself where I am. Because I can’t be anyplace else but here. It’s from this place that I can heal and grow and move forward. But I need to embrace all that is here, the seemingly ugly and unwanted parts included.

Seemingly ugly only because our culture and our beliefs deem them ugly. The angry and wounded parts that we must embrace before we can release them and move on to happier days. I just want to get to the release part. And I am quite reluctant to embrace.

But embrace I must.

:: Pause ::

I am angry because the Sacred Scriptures have been rewritten ever so slightly to hide women. From small stuff like changing Junia to Junias to big stuff like doing away with (or making peripheral) the Feminine Face of God.

I am angry because it is so hard and hurtful to follow the path of a Christian Feminine/Feminist in most male-led churches and groups, no matter how un-intintentional.

I am angry because nourishing my spirituality in ways more Feminine is often looked down upon by church “authorities” and sometimes labeled heretic at best, demonic worst.

:: Pause ::

Most people will say, don’t get angry. Get busy and get working! Be the change you want to see in the world! And in part, I agree. But to be the change you want to see in the world requires self-work first and foremost. Not changing the systems out there that we see as broken. Change is an inside job.

And my self-work requires that I take myself out of what I consider psychologically abusive places (yes such a strong word) such as churches where my identity as a woman is constantly denied if not denigrated to a side note. For every time I have to sing of a He, for every time I have to pray to a Father,  for every time I read something addressed to a man and not a woman, for every time I read another Empowering-the-Feminine book or article written by men, I inflict more wounds to what is trying to heal and grow and be.

Because the change I need to happen is pure unconditional acceptance and celebration of my Feminine Self.

And I start with me.

:: The End ::

 

 

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