A Thought Collection

June 30, 2009 By 2 Comments

thoughtsonmymind

I liked the free clip-art graphic. Even though it’s a guy, I decided to fill his big thought bubble, er, rectangle, with a summary of my own experience:

Lots of different thoughts filled my head today.

This is a big month for me. July is not only Mega Memory Month but also the month leading up to the release of my book, Not So Fast, on August 1.

So the blog this coming month will likely offer a hodge-podge of my memorization trials and tribulations alongside posts chronicling the excitement leading up to the book’s debut … not to mention the usual Make-Do Mondays and Food on Fridays carnivals.

Here’s a round-up of several top-of-mind subjects:

Regarding Not So Fast

  • Used? The other day, a friend of mine sent me over to the Amazon.com listing of Not So Fast, asking how can a not-yet-released book be sold used? Good question! How can a book that hasn’t yet rolled off the presses be available used?
  • Marketing. I picked up my daughter from a sleepover, and the mom, a former news anchor, offered me a long list of marketing ideas. What an encouraging friend with such wonderful suggestions! Now … all I have to do is implement them all.
  • Inspiration. I found a beautiful photo to accompany a “slow” quote and posted them at NotSoFastBook.com yesterday. Check it out.

Regarding Mega Memory Month

  • Preview of my Memory Plan. I intend to announce my own personal Mega Memory Month plan tomorrow, July 1st, when the challenge officially begins, but as a preview, I’ll reveal that along with a passage of Scripture, I’m planning to memorize Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” In January I memorized “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” so to undertake “The Road Not Taken” feels like a nice complement. Plus, I mention the poem in my book’s dedication and want to have it inside my head. I know the poem; now I want to know the poem by heart.
  • Spread the Word. Please let blogging and non-blogging friends know about Mega Memory Month, because it’s more motivating to know that a lot of people are sharing the same challenge!

Random Mental Meanderings

  • Length of Messages. A friend who is a professional speech writer said that speeches should be no longer than 20 minutes. “Twenty minutes of content,” he said, “ten minutes of Q & A, then that’s it. Sit down. Nobody wants any more than that, even if they say they do.” In the past year, I have been asked to give 30-, 40-, and 45-minute messages. Should I have followed my speech-writer-friend’s advice instead?
  • Eggs. I buy eggs from a local woman who raises chickens in humane conditions on her farm. They taste better to me than store-bought eggs, but when someone asks me to describe the difference, I can’t find the right words. They just have more flavor.
  • The Scarlet Letter. I hadn’t read The Scarlet Letter in high school or college. How did that happen? Finally, after all these years, I read it last week. I had to force myself to keep reading at first, but by the end, I really liked it.
  • Vocabulary. Reading all of these classics to prepare to teach an American Literature course is revealing my meager vocabulary. I’ve started making 3×5 cards of all the words I don’t know. My stack of cards is already thick. I feel stupid for not knowing, but better for taking time to learn them.
  • Twitter. I’m still trying to figure out how to make the most of Twitter without having a portable gadget to post tweets.
  • Facebook. I’m still trying to figure out how to make the most of Facebook without living online.

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Join Mega Memory Month for the month of July!

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Filed Under: books, change, lifelong learning, mega memory month, memorization, mind, MMM, reading, Recently Read, self-discovery, simplicity, Slow Movement, slowing, taking risks

July 2009 is Mega Memory Month

June 29, 2009 By 12 Comments

mmmsplat2

(Much smaller button below)

It’s back—with a groovy new button!

July 2009 is:

Mega Memory Month

As we head into the dog days of summer, why not give our minds something to chew on?

Mega Memory Month kicks off this Wednesday, July 1st.

Here’s how to participate:

  • Pick something to memorize. Try memorizing something long. Something formidable. Something mega. (challenge yourself relative to what you’ve tackled in the past.) It could be poetry, a famous speech, or a passage of Scripture.
  • Announce it on your blog or in the comments of this post whenever you like. If you find out about MMM late or forget about it until halfway through the month, no problem. Jump in and do what you can in the time that remains.
  • Leave a link (in Mr. Linky below or in the comments) that will take readers to your own blog’s MMM post. Non-bloggers are encouraged to participate as well through comments, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
  • Include the new MMM button (by all means, use the smaller one below) to tie us together visually. It helps interested readers find and join the challenge!
  • Start memorizing!

Mega Memory Month Participants

  1. Denise at Butter and Honey
  2. Me, annkroeker.writer.
  3. Amy at Lavender Sparkles
  4. Hopeannfaith’s Well
  5. Jennifer at Scraps and Snippets
  6. Erin at filling my patch of sky
  7. Kate Mills at Little Mills

Progress Reports: I’ll be posting my own personal MMM Progress Reports on Tuesdays (they used to be on Mondays, but now that’s reserved for Make-Do Mondays). Mr. Linky will be provided for you to tie in, if you like. Chime in at any time during the week. Reports will be posted, Lord willing, July 7, 14, and 21. The 28th will be iffy, as I’ll be traveling and may not have Internet access.

Final Thoughts: Nobody is judging how well we complete this month-long memory project—it simply provides public accountability.

Don’t let the word “mega” discourage you from participating. Participate even if your selection is modest. In fact, my own might be pretty puny compared to those of some mega-memorizers. The bottom line is that we will be better for it.

So jump in and join the carnival, whether you chip away at something short or long.

I hope to encourage you along the way. For starters, click HERE for my mega collection of memorization tips and techniques.

Let’s take a risk.

Stretch ourselves.

After all, Mega Memory Month is hosted by someone who feels that her mind is more like a sieve than a steel trap; yet, as I discovered during the past Mega Memory Months:

Our minds can hold more than we think they can.

mmmsplat2

Filed Under: lifelong learning, mega memory month, memorization, mind, MMM

Make-Do Mondays: Fountain Grass

June 28, 2009 By 9 Comments

makedomondays

see below for alternative button

At Make-Do Mondays, we discuss how we’re simplifying, downsizing, repurposing, buying used, and using what we’ve got.

It’s a carnival celebrating creative problem-solving, contentment, patience and ingenuity. To participate, share your own make-do solution in the comments or write up a Make-Do Mondays post at your blog, then return here to link via Mr. Linky. Enjoy others’ ideas by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking on people’s names.

Here’s a mini-tutorial on Mr. Linky:

Click on the icon and a separate page will pop up. Type in your blog name and paste in the url of your new Make-Do Mondays post. Click enter and it should be live. If it doesn’t work, just include the link in the comments.

To visit people’s posts or check that yours worked, click on Mr. Linky and when the page comes up, click on a name. You should be taken right to the page provided.

Make-Do Mondays Participants

  1. Halala Mama (Make-Do Leftovers)
  2. Small Town ~ Simple Home (Makeshift Rain Barrel)
  3. Feels Like Home (What to do with Leftover Buns)
  4. Trish Southard (Crabby Crafts)
  5. My Practically Perfect Life (Pilot’s Make-Do Trailer)
  6. Coupons, Deals and More (Deviled Eggs)
  7. Sunnydaytodaymama (Car booting)
  8. Home Grown Mommy (Waterbed Bookshelf)

Make-Do Mondays with Ann

Many of our neighbors are like artists as they plant flowers, vines and plants around their homes. Their landscaping flows together, one plant’s color, height and texture complementing another. As I jog down the street, I admire the ideas, beauty, and creativity.

Then I jog home and look at our house.

And I sigh.

On my own, I’ve never been able to create a pleasing arrangement for the front yard.

So a year-and-a-half ago, the Belgian Wonder and I paid a little money for a local landscape company to send over a designer. He walked around the house with me, listening to my gardening woes, asking me what I liked and disliked, looking at the plants and flowers I already had in place. He studied the house, measured all the beds, and, well, I don’t know what all he did. Landscape-designer things. Anyway, he eventually gave us a plan for our front yard sketched out and labeled on graph paper.

All we had to do was follow the plan.

I think that the company he worked for hoped we would hire them to put it all in all for us, but we were being cheap. We just wanted the plan and would do the work ourselves, over time.

I no longer had to stand in my front yard and stare at my house, frustrated and hopeless. Instead, clutching a photocopy of the precious plan, I simply drove to Lowes and bought the first set of plants we were ready to “install.” Little by little, we’ve got most of the sections dug up and planted with what he said would work.

We had been following his plan perfectly, buying the exact plants he recommended, hoping to maximize our chances of success.

He recommended a particular day lily, so we bought that and placed it in the exact plot of soil that the graph paper indicated. We bought the precise species of hosta and ground cover and a small tree that he said would work.

For one awkward spot, he recommended a specific fountain grass. I love the loose, casual, beach-y look of fountain grasses.

In fact, we had some grasses already growing in the back yard—three different types.

And Lowes didn’t have the landscape designer’s species. I did find it at a nursery down the road from Lowes, but it was expensive. So I faced a big decision:  Should we compromise? Should we make our own executive decision on the variety of plant that we thought would work in a particular spot?

Should we?

Should we take the risk?

Should we just dig up a portion of the type we already had on hand and use that instead of buying new?

I was nervous.

After all, I paid for his advice. I paid for that graph paper. I paid to overcome my plant insecurities.

But we did it.

We made-do with a variety of grass we already had.

It’s probably all wrong.

Maybe the designer envisioned something taller.

Maybe it should be straighter, or lighter in color.

Or maybe this is just fine.

I always thought I’d replace this with the recommended grass someday, but I haven’t yet.

This keeps growing up healthy and lush, so I leave it, making-do.

fountaingrass

It’s probably not perfect, but, as I pointed out last week with my basket, neither am I.

How do you make do?

If the main button is too big, try this one:

makedomondays

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Filed Under: frugality, home, Make-Do Mondays, simplicity, taking risks, Uncategorized

Food on Fridays: More Muffins

June 26, 2009 By 5 Comments

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(alternative button below)

Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome. Recipes are enjoyed, but you can just list your favorite cold beverages, tell us whether or not you salt your watermelon and cantaloupe, or describe a day of fasting (instead of a Food on Fridays, I guess that would be a No Food on Fridays post).

In other words, the Food on Fridays parameters are not at all narrow. I think of it as a virtual pitch-in where everyone brings something to share; even if the content of one item is unrelated to the rest, we sample it all anyway and have a great time.

When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (the big one above or the new smaller option at the bottom) to paste at the top of your post and join us through Mr. Linky.

Here’s a Mr. Linky tutorial:

Write up a post, publish, then return here and click on Mr. Linky below. A screen will pop up where you can type in your blog name and paste in the url to your own Food on Fridays post (give us the exact link to your Food on Fridays page, not just the link to your blog).

You can also visit other people’s posts by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking participants’ names–you should be taken straight to their posts.

Food on Fridays Participants

  1. Hoosier Homemade (blueberry muffins)
  2. Newlyweds! (Super Easy Cobbler)
  3. $aving Makes Cents (Chicken and Squash Saute with Rice)
  4. Halala Mama (Chai Tea Latte)
  5. Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker (Homemade Maple Bars)
  6. My Practically Perfect Life (Make-Do Meal)
  7. Glimpse of Sonshine (Peach Cobbler Muffins)
  8. Stretch Mark Mama (Fruit Pizza)
  9. Meanwhile, back at the ranch… (Fried Tacos)
  10. Cook with Sara (Summer Pasta)

Food on Fridays with Ann

Mmmm….more muffins.

bananachocchip

Forget corn muffins.

These are banana chocolate-chip muffins (even the mere mention of this muffin makes me drool).

I used a banana bread recipe, scooped the batter into muffin tins with an ice cream scoop, and cooked them for typical muffin minutes (around 15-20—pulling them out whenever they looked done on top).

Banana Bread (Easy)

1/2 C shortening (I used butter this time, but sometimes I use part butter, part oil; other times, I substitute some applesauce or yogurt for some of the oil)

1 C sugar

2 eggs

2 C flour (I use a lot of whole wheat and a little white)

dash salt

1 t baking powder

1/2 t soda

3 mashed bananas

1 C chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Cream shortening and sugar.

Add eggs and beat.

Sift and add dry ingredients.

Fold in bananas (and chocolate chips, if using).

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes for bread, 15-20 for muffins (use toothpick test for both).

More Friday Carnivals

Is Food on Fridays not fun enough for you?  Not in the mood for food? Check out these other great carnivals!

(a slightly smaller Food on Fridays button)

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Filed Under: Food, Food on Fridays, home

Are You Enjoying the Benefits of a Slower Life?

June 24, 2009 By 7 Comments

This article in The Boston Globe claims that some families are discovering unexpected benefits of a slower approach to life in the midst of economic downturn.

“It’s hard to slow down. It’s hard to step back,” said one of the people interviewed who lost a corporate law job, “but it’s a blessing in disguise.”

The article doesn’t go into great detail, but touches on a few areas where formerly fast-paced families have been making changes and adopting a “slow” philosophy:

Shrunken budgets are prompting more homemade entertainment, home-cooked meals, and pioneer-type survival strategies for families – all changes that slow down the pace of family life and the recent emphasis on materialism.

Regardless of how the economy has affected your lifestyle, you may be making changes, simplifying and slowing down.

If so, what are some changes you’ve made? Point us to some blog posts you may have written on this topic, or let us know in the comments.

How slow have you been forced to go?

And would you say you are discovering, like the Boston Globe story suggests, “unexpected benefits” in the midst of economic downturn?

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Featured on Mama Monday

June 23, 2009 By 5 Comments

Andrea at Flourishing Mother asked if I’d be willing to be featured on Mama Monday.

I agreed.

I even had the Belgian Wonder snap a photo of me with the kids especially for Mama Monday:

mamamonday

Pop on over to Flourishing Mother and read all kinds of things about Ann Kroeker you might never have learned otherwise, like three quirky things about me and a few of my guilty pleasures (did somebody say “cookie dough”?).

Filed Under: motherhood, parenting, self-discovery

Make-Do Mondays: Imperfection

June 21, 2009 By 4 Comments

makedomondays

see below for alternative button

At Make-Do Mondays, we discuss how we’re simplifying, downsizing, repurposing, buying used, and using what we’ve got.

It’s a carnival celebrating creative problem-solving, contentment, patience and ingenuity. To participate, share your own make-do solution in the comments or write up a Make-Do Mondays post at your blog, then return here to link via Mr. Linky. Enjoy others’ ideas by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking on people’s names.

Here’s a mini-tutorial on Mr. Linky:

Click on the icon and a separate page will pop up. Type in your blog name and paste in the url of your new Make-Do Mondays post. Click enter and it should be live. If it doesn’t work, just include the link in the comments.

To visit people’s posts or check that yours worked, click on Mr. Linky and when the page comes up, click on a name. You should be taken right to the page provided.

Make-Do Mondays Participants

  1. My Practically Perfect Life (tube rubber bands and fishing—no pole needed)
  2. The Goat (Make-Do Swiffer)
  3. Feels Like Home (Game for Toddler: Balls in the Circle)
  4. Coupons, Deals and More (Sour Cream Cheesecake)
  5. 50′s Housewife (Technology)

Make-Do Mondays with Ann

At the end of the day Saturday, we spotted a big sign stating that it was half-price day at Goodwill.

“We’ve got to check that out!” I exclaimed. So the Belgian Wonder turned around the van, and we zipped into the parking lot to see what was left.

I wanted a basket to contain our newspapers and saw one that might work. Looking it over, I noticed a few flaws—spots where a dog must have chewed on it.

A piece was broken along one edge:

imperfectbasket1

And a corner was gnawed off:

imperfectbasket2

Both of these imperfections were more or less on the same side:

imperfectbasket3

So the basket was far from perfect, but it was the right size and shape to hold newspapers.

And while it was marked a bit high for a broken basket at Goodwill, as I already mentioned, everything was half price.

So I bought it, brought it home, stuck my newspapers in it, and put the gnawed side against the wall on the table where it sits (that table is not the one on which I photographed it):

imperfectbasket4

Imperfection is rampant in my make-do life.

The basket is imperfect. The photograph of the basket is imperfect. The table on which it’s sitting is imperfect.

It seems that almost everything I own breaks, bends, snaps, shatters or tears. Today we broke a glass. Yesterday, a cute purple piece of a homemade popsicle-maker fell into the sink and was mangled by the disposal.

It all reminds me of how imperfect this world is.

And the reminders magnify the longing to be fixed, repaired, mended, made whole … none of which is possible on my own, not with all the duct tape or Super Glue in the world.

So I chose an imperfect basket to go with my popsicle-maker, floss dispenser, camping supplies, and so on. They are all reminders, in a way, of grace.

I am imperfect.

I need grace.

If the main button is too big, try this one:

makedomondays

Filed Under: frugality, home, Make-Do Mondays, self-discovery, simplicity

Food on Fridays: Corn Muffin Bake-Off

June 18, 2009 By 12 Comments

fof

(alternative button below)

Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome. Recipes are enjoyed, but you can just share about your favorite VBS snack, describe hummus as if you’ve been assigned that as a sensory-focused creative writing prompt, or tell us a childhood dietary mishap (I, for example, ate too many Bugles one time, threw up, and never touched them again).

In other words, the Food on Fridays parameters are not at all narrow. I think of it as a virtual pitch-in where everyone brings something to share; even if the content of one item is unrelated to the rest, we sample it all anyway and have a great time.

When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (the big one above or the new smaller option at the bottom) to paste at the top of your post and join us through Mr. Linky.

Here’s a Mr. Linky tutorial:

Write up a post, publish, then return here and click on Mr. Linky below. A screen will pop up where you can type in your blog name and paste in the url to your own Food on Fridays post (give us the exact link to your Food on Fridays page, not just the link to your blog).

You can also visit other people’s posts by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking participants’ names–you should be taken straight to their posts.

Food on Fridays Participants

  1. Cooking during Stolen Moments (Pork Fried Rice)
  2. Halala Mama (Cheap Chicken Enchiladas)
  3. My Practically Perfect Life (Handy Sandwich Pouch)
  4. Stretch Mark Mama (Strawberry Rhubarb Pie)
  5. Hoosier Homemade (Homemade Corn Dogs)
  6. Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch… (Crockpot Lasagna)
  7. Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker (French Toast Casserole)
  8. Newlyweds! (Chocolate Zucchini Cake)
  9. Cook with Sara (Frosty Coffee Pie)
  10. Feels Like Home (Chicken Salad)
  11. It’s Frugal Being Green (Food Matters: A Review)
  12. Scraps and Snippets (First Harvest)

Food on Fridays with Ann

Wednesday night I made soup and wanted a muffin to go along with it. The kids suggested cornbread muffins, but I lost my favorite cornbread muffin recipe a few years ago and have never found one I like as much.

An Internet search turned up a few promising options, and my Twitter friends made some suggestions for substitutions. I didn’t have sour cream, for example, and someone suggested plain yogurt, which I had just purchased. For buttermilk, someone suggested making sour milk with a bit of vinegar in regular milk.

So I made three different recipes and sampled them all, like I did one time for two blueberry muffin recipes.

Here are the three recipes hyperlinked to the original source:

Featherlight Corn Muffins 

Sour Cream Cornbread Muffins

Perfectly Moist Corn Muffins

cornmuffinA

Sour Cream Cornbread Muffins are the six on the left in this photo; Featherlight Corn Muffins are the six on the right.

Below is the rack of Perfectly Moist Corn Muffins:

cornmuffinC

Taste rankings:

Sour Cream Cornbread Muffins: #1 choice of The Boy, our youngest. #3 choice for my eldest and myself.

Featherlight Corn Muffins: #1 choice of my eldest and myself. #2 choice for The Boy.

Perfectly Moist Corn Muffins: #2 choice of my eldest and myself. #3 choice for The Boy.

The others liked them all and stated no preference.

Although we enjoyed these batches and I did have a preference, none of them was outstanding. Now, keep in mind I was substituting from what the original recipe recommended, so that could be the problem.

But I’m still looking for a very simple, fairly moist (not dry or crumbly) cornbread muffin.

Do you know where I can find such a recipe?

More Friday Carnivals

Is Food on Fridays not fun enough for you?  Not in the mood for food? Check out these other great carnivals!

 

(a slightly smaller Food on Fridays button)

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Filed Under: Uncategorized

Hope to Spare You a Flat Tire

June 17, 2009 By 3 Comments

threenails

I keep my eyes open while on walks or jogs, picking up sharp screws and nails that I spot on the street, hoping to spare someone a flat tire.

I found all three of these on the same day while completing a short neighborhood route. Scary, eh?

For more Wordless Wednesdays, click HERE.

Filed Under: simplicity, slowing Tagged With:

Make-Do Mondays: Campsite Creativity

June 14, 2009 By 6 Comments

makedomondays

see below for alternative button

At Make-Do Mondays, we discuss how we’re simplifying, downsizing, repurposing, buying used, and using what we’ve got.

It’s a carnival celebrating creative problem-solving, contentment, patience and ingenuity. To participate, share your own make-do solution in the comments or write up a Make-Do Mondays post at your blog, then return here to link via Mr. Linky. Enjoy others’ ideas by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking on people’s names.

Here’s a mini-tutorial on Mr. Linky:

Click on the icon and a separate page will pop up. Type in your blog name and paste in the url of your new Make-Do Mondays post. Click enter and it should be live. If it doesn’t work, just include the link in the comments.

To visit people’s posts or check that yours worked, click on Mr. Linky and when the page comes up, click on a name. You should be taken right to the page provided.

 

Make-Do Mondays Participants

  1. Feels Like Home (homemade ice cream)
  2. Sunnydaytodaymama (caterpillar cake)
  3. Coupons, Deals and More (Cool Whip)
  4. My Practically Perfect Life (Camping Food)
  5. Like Mother, Like Daughter (Decorating Hack)
  6. Mama Long (Ceiling Fan)

Make-Do Mondays with Ann

Camping turns a vacation into one big make-do extravaganza. You already read about the Belgian Wonder’s portable coffee gadget, so he can drink make-do coffee. But there’s always something we have to rig up to meet a need using whatever we have on hand. An obvious make-do activity is stringing clothesline all around like a drunken spider building a wobbly web. 

You can check out our initial clothes-web in the first photo below:

clotheslinemakedoweb

Later in the week, after a thunderstorm blew through and dampened many items, we greatly expanded the web, weaving and wrapping the extra length of rope around tree trunks and limbs. We also used many plastic grocery bags for trash (shame on us for having so many—but we were trying to recycle).

And when my sister-in-law saw the printer box, she suggested I snap a photo for Make-Do Mondays.

makedoboxcampwriting

Contrary to how things may appear, we did not bring along our printer.

The Belgian Wonder grabbed it to store some pots, pans, and our electric skillet (I know what you’re thinking! Is it really camping if I have an electric skillet? You decide…). Storing them in the box, each stuck inside of a paper grocery bag, kept them from banging and clanging against each other and other items stuffed in the camper on the bumpy ride.

We saved the big Cheerios box in case we needed it for storage, too, but ended up burning it in the fire pit (make-do kindling).

Our dishwashing system was all about making-do. Two tubs, dish soap, a sponge, and a scrubbing gadget. The dishwasher squatted down by the faucet and worked while voracious mosquitoes buzzed around ears, arms and legs.

Camping is a great way to practice making-do for Americans used to the comforts of hot water on demand, comfy mattresses, well-lit bathrooms with reliable showers, ovens and air conditioning. We don’t rough it like wilderness campers hiking in with everything on their backs and pitching camp in the mountains, but every time we camp we come back appreciating simple pleasures, like kitchen cabinets, hot water on demand, washing machines and sturdy shelter.

How do you make do?

If the main button is too big, try this one:

makedomondays

Filed Under: creativity, family, frugality, Make-Do Mondays, simplicity, Slow Movement, slowing, taking risks, The Wimpy Environmentalist, travel