Archive for March, 2011

Breathing a sigh of relief…I think we are finally coming out of the fog after 5 days of the flu. It will take awhile for things to get “back to normal” around here…but we are working on it. I think I’ll start with laundry

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the past week. My favorite new throw blanket, my sweet Bella who is growing up before my eyes, and my smiley Lucy. Life is good.

And now for some inspiration!

I haven’t been a huge fan of chai in the past, but it’s growing on me! I found this amazing homemade recipe on Pinterest. Can’t wait to try it.

Have you been trying to limit your time on Facebook or just your time online in general? Check out this cool site.

Tara, Justin, and Zeb are starting a new journey! They leave Vegas today in their new rig. Love this family.

My heart just aches for Japan right now. Here is a neat page with some Twitter updates from Japan (in English).

These little dwellings are SO awesome. I hope they can survive…

Yummy yummy dreads. So much color! Love her whimsical art.

I get warm and fuzzy feelings when I see our very first RV out there on the road again.

Faryn’s work is amazing. Love love love.

I’m LOVING this post by Mandy at Messy Canvas. There is such joy in the little stuff. The little “finds”, quotes, things that friends send me. And I long to have a space in the house that is just my stuff. Heck, I need to do this just so I can FIND my stuff. Now I have to figure out where on earth I could do it Every corner is currently occupied. Do you have something like this in your home?

Have an inspired Monday! xxoo

 

 

 

::: photo credit :::

I wanted to write about this fun milestone yesterday, but the flu came in and stole my motivation However, I just can’t let the weekend go by without celebrating a bit!

Walk Slowly, Live Wildly turned FIVE years old yesterday! I posted my very first blog on March 11, 2006. I still remember sitting on our red couch at the house in Des Moines…trying to decide what to name it. Back in those days, MySpace with the “cool place” to be and the blogosphere was still just a child. It’s crazy how much has changed in 5 years!

This blog has opened so many doors for friendship and new experiences. In fact, our initial tour around the country was originally a “let’s go meet blog readers” tour…and it’s such a blessing to know so many of you in person! I honestly can’t imagine my life without the friends I have met online. I would venture to say that the majority of the people I interact with on a day to day basis and those who inspire me the most were once “strangers” I met online.

This online space we have created…it’s quite an amazing web of interconnectedness.

As part of the celebration, I would love to hear from you! Leave me a comment just to say hello and tell me a little about yourself! But beyond that, I would love to hear any stories you have about:

• Online friendships turned “real life” friendships
• Online communities that have changed you forever
• Any “remember when” moments or experiences you and I have had together in real life 

It’s one of my dreams to someday gather all of my friends for a big weekend retreat…wouldn’t that be amazing? But for now…we’ll just have a little party right here

Stay tuned for some really fantastic celebration giveaways in the next couple of weeks!

 

This is what we’ve been up to the past two days. Lots of sleeping. Lots of holding. Lots of laying on the couch and watching HGTV and Qubo. Yep, we’re sick with the flu. As I type this, I have Lucy asleep under my arm and Bella is still asleep from a long night.

Unfortunately, it means that Monica had to cancel her flight in from Portland and we’ll be doing our girls weekend in May instead But as she has so wisely pointed out, “everything for a reason”.

And so we rest. And heal. And enjoy our quiet time together.

 

 

I’ve seen people talking about it.
I’ve watched them jump on the bandwagon.
Saying it’s the coolest thing to come around in awhile.
I was skeptical.
I didn’t need another place to waste time on the web.
But I was wrong.
And they were right.

I love Pinterest.

What? Yes, I know…it’s a weird name. But it’s awesome.

Pin·terest (pĭn’trĭst): n. a social catalog to collect and share things you love.

There are two reasons I am online.

1. To inspire others.
2. To be inspired.

Pinterest covers both of those in a beautiful and fun way. I can spend 2 minutes browsing the boards and leave with my heart exploding with joy. Now that’s something worth checking out!

My profile page is here. I’ve just started…but give me time and I will pin, pin, pin!
Come join in the fun…let’s see what inspires YOU!!

*note: at this time, you have to “request” an invite, but the turnaround is quite speedy.

 

 

 

 

Crazy defined: “intensely enthusiastic / passionately excited”.

That sounds like us! Or, it can mean “mentally deranged; demented; insane”. Well, that’s us too. I have a passionately insane family. And I like it that way.

I’ve been holding this photo hostage until my mama got her spring update letter out…but it’s in the mail so now I can post it! This was from Christmas and every time I see it I feel happy little sparkles inside.

My family is such a blessing and I am so DEEPLY thankful for their love and support. Each one is so unique, talented, and yes, crazy…I can’t imagine life without every last one of them! (Click twice on photo to enlarge)

Here are a few little bits of inspiration for Monday:

*I love this! So funky and colorful.

*Loving this new blog I found.

*I’m so fascinated with car-free people. While you’re there, check out Smalltopia too. Good stuff!

*Love seeing San Francisco through Tara’s lens.

*Some delicious Etsy finds:

These are so crazy beautiful. Although, I do believe at least half of you will think I’m nuts.

Love this. I need one that says “maté love”

Oh so dreamy.

We’re gearing up for a great week around here. Expecting some snow tonight and tomorrow, but back to 60 by Friday. Just in time for the lovely Monica to arrive on an airplane from Portland to come to MY HOUSE! Yippppeee!

 

 

 

 

When Matt and I were first married, I was a Pampered Chef consultant and I LOOOOOOVED it. I recruited all of my friends as well and we had a grand ‘ol time! We even took an unforgettable trip to Chicago together. Such fun. When we moved and I started working for my family, I stopped selling it. However, my deep love for Pampered Chef products has lived on!

Now that we are settled in a house, there are a few new PC products I would love to have…so I’m hosting an online party! It’s a great way to get a few new items, and I love that I’m supporting a fellow work-at-home mama.

**If you live in the Denver area, I am going to have a Girls Night/Pampered Chef Catalog Show at my house sometime this coming week. Email me at janssenfamily (at) gmail (dot) com so I can add you to the invite list! I’m still trying to pick a night, so let me know when you could come over.  I think it’s a great excuse for me to get everyone together at once And of course, you can still come over even if you don’t want to buy anything!

You have until Saturday, March 12 at 12:00 MST to place an order…

CLICK HERE TO GO SHOPPING!

If you’re new to Pampered Chef, let me tell you about some lovely products that I cannot live without:

Apple Wedger: I’ve tried SO many knock-offs of this wedger. Nothing compares. Pretty much ALL of their specialty cutting tools rock my world.

Batter Bowls: I use the Classic Batter Bowl almost daily!

Quick-Stir Pitcher: I love both the small and large sizes of this pitcher. So handy.

Stoneware Muffin Pan: We make a lot of muffins and this piece of stoneware bakes them evenly every time!

Bar Pan: Probably my favorite PC item. I use it for everything from cookies to roasting veggies. If you eat bacon, this is the ONLY way to cook it! Lay them out and cook in the oven…which means no bacon “smell” in your kitchen!

Pizza Stone: Yes please! Super high quality pizza stone. They’ve added molded handles since I was selling…so excited.

Food Chopper: A Pampered Chef classic! Nuts, onions, chocolate, veggies, you name it. Save time and clean up!!

Knives: You can’t go wrong with their cutting tools. Awesome.

Bamboo Salad Tongs: Love these.

Sweet Caramel Sprinkle: If you’re looking for a little treat with your latte, oatmeal, pancakes, and more…don’t miss this! I discovered this recently and we love it!

Medium Scoop: If you make cookies…I’m not sure how you can live without this little gem! Use the large scoop for no-mess muffins.

Ok, so I think I could go on and on with more favorites, but I will leave it at that. Feel free to email me with any questions about products. You can also contact my consultant and friend Jess through the site.

One last thing, I just can’t say enough good things about Pampered Chef as a company,  and if you are looking for a side job that is fun…but sure to contact Jess for more info!

Now get to cookin’!

CLICK HERE TO GO SHOPPING!

 

 

 

We got up early this morning to take Matt to pick up his new truck! We’ve been looking for what seems like forever for one to replace the SportTrac…he needed something a little bigger for work. And oh boy…it’s big!

It’s also a diesel and we are super excited to convert it to run on straight veggie oil. Gas prices are getting a bit scary these days. After owning it for about 5 minutes, I heard him muttering something about looking for a fifth wheel. Ha! You can take the man off the road but…

After dropping Daddy off at the dealer, we took off to the mall. And our mall has this huge “beach-like” area that we played in. The girls dug and filled their clothes and shoes with sand. Bella created giant letter “ditches” for each of our names. Mom and I stocked up on Vitamin D. It was so HOT! Loved it. I am SO excited for summer to get here. I can taste the watermelon already.

And one last thing. If you ever wonder how I got SO CRAZY…

Blame this lady So thankful to have this time with my mama.

 

We left the house this sunny afternoon to explore more of our lovely city…and we discovered a gem! Caffe Luna is just a short bike ride from our house and I am thrilled to have it so close. I pulled up on my cruiser (first ride since Cali!) with the girls in the trailer and we parked it in the front. I noticed right away the patrons were my kind of people. You know what I mean…they looked like they weren’t exactly “going with the flow” hee hee

We walked in and Bella immediately claimed our very own room with floor to ceiling books, a table and several comfy chairs. It was pretty quiet, so we were able to spread out a bit. The light was streaming in and it was overall just pretty dreamy. I ordered some vegan white bean soup and sourdough bread with green plum iced tea and Bella got a homemade brownie and vanilla rooibos. The barista was helpful and kind to the girls, answering my many questions with ease. There were a few ladies in the main room hanging a new art exhibit.

Lucy immediately noticed that there was another baby present…she made the baby sign and asked to go see her. Bella walked her over there and they had a nice conversation and I went to join them and talked with the mama for a bit. There were toys and books for them to play with…which is genius if you ask me. Every coffee shop needs to do that! I love taking my girls out on “dates”…because I love watching them interact with the world around them. They are such bright & friendly spirits…it makes me happy being with them.

I can’t wait to come back and enjoy a quiet mama day on the front porch…with a scone and some steamy coffee. They have all kinds of breakfast foods and they open at 6am. The only unfortunate thing is that they close at 6pm….but the barista assured me that I could sit on the porch long after they closed to use their wi-fi. Love it.

After we left the cafe, we rode across the street to the playground and basked in the sun a bit more. Then we rode back home to our neighborhood corner park and met one of our neighbors and her daughter. An hour later, we met more neighbors and they have 5 and 7 year old girls. They were SO nice and we made plans for the girls to play together.

It was a good day.

Have you discovered anything new and wonderful in your own town lately?