Archive for the 'Blogs' Category

Here are a couple blogs that I’ve been enjoying:

Passionate Homemaking
I’m sure some of you are already familiar with Lindsay’s blog, but I just recently came across it. Our interests intersect nicely, so I’ve had a great time peeking around her blog…especially in her recipe section. Good stuff there. Her site is super organized and easy to navigate…and although I’ve never corresponded with her, she just seems like a mama you would want to sit down with over a cup of tea! Currently, she is holding a book discussion and giveaway for a book that I would love to read, Practicing Hospitality. Be sure to check it out!

Ordinary Life Magic
As we delve deeper into our unschooling journey, I’ve been looking for inspiration…and this blog is full of it! It’s a display of one unschooling family’s adventures in their “ordinary”, but magical life. Whenever I look at her photos, I’m reminded to slow down and enjoy life’s ordinary moments and to see the world through the eyes of a child.

What blogs have you discovered (and loved) lately?

A few blogs that I’ve been enjoying lately:

Mourning Into Dancing: Jess has a way with words. I love her strong spirit and her “real-ness”. She tells it like it is…and she will have you laughing out loud and shedding a tear in the same post. She talks openly about the struggles she has and yet walks with Jesus through it all.

 Big Sweet Tooth: Can anyone have such a charmed life as Misty? I think not. The girl travels the world, builds schools in 3rd world countries, helps children in need, meets the most interesting people, eats amazing food, and is passionate about her work. If you’ve ever wanted to travel the world (or anywhere!), you’ll love reading about her adventures.

Have you found any new blogs recently that you’re enjoying? Do share

I am having so much fun reading Rae’s blog that I just had to share it with everyone. You MUST add it to your list…
Rachel, Chinua, and their children have moved to India from the U.S. and are blogging about it at Journey Mama and also in more detailed form at Fly Fishes Fly!
Journey Mama is Rachel’s blog and her writing is honest, uplifting, raw, inspiring…you will love it. Chinua is also writing on the Fly Fishes Fly blog and he has a captivating style as well. Can’t wait to see their India adventure unfold. We missed meeting them in Sacramento by just a few weeks…but had the chance to hang out with many of their friends (in different cities…how weird is the bloggy world?!).

Chinua is also a crazy amazing photographer. Check his photos out here.

I came across this awesome post and I knew I needed to pass it on. She so eloquently says what I have been thinking for a long time…although I am no where near deciding to stop blogging! My favorite part of the post:

“It is almost like if I have a problem my first thought is Google not God.”

And the part at the end about looking into your child’s eyes…that was convicting! Read it today! A big thanks to Amy at Lavender Sparkles for posting it first.

Food Lovers Unite! I have changed my food blog to WordPress now…you can find it here: Happy Foody.

I’ve added lots of YUMMY new recipes, including one of my all-time favorites, Peanut Love Sauce and a new one that I can’t get enough of, Avocado Feta Salsa. I added a “Most Requested” category as well so you can find the best recipes easily. None of the recipes are of my own creation…so I’ve given credit to the original chef if I knew who it was. I’ve also re-categorized everything for easier navigation. Some of the entries are from my old MySpace blog, so they aren’t all formatted the same, and not all will have photos…but it will still be fun

I will be updating this more often now…so check back for goodies. As always, I love to hear your feedback on the recipes! Cook Cook Cook!

Here are a handful of blogs that I have been blessed by lately…I hope you’ll be blessed too!

• Love Notes to Yahweh
• A Path Made Straight
• Wide Open Spaces
• Fiddle Mama
• The Flourishing Mother

Photo credit: Flickr/Cultural Savage

In a recent conversation with friends, I used the term “blogosphere”…and I got some strange looks. I quickly realized that not everyone knows about this “secret world” that many of us live in. I assured them, jokingly, that it was indeed a real word because Wikipedia says so. It’s pretty common for people to associate Internet friendships with creepy/stalker-type situations…and while that can happen, the opposite is true most of the time. And yes, you can get TOO wrapped up in the online “alternative reality” and forget that there is a real life to be lived. But as long as you have balance in your life, blogs are such a great way to meet new people.

As we have traveled across the U.S…every single family/person we have met/stayed with has been one we first met in the blogosphere. We may have known about them in print…or maybe even what they looked like by photo, but we had never met them face to face. It’s always an interesting first encounter. The wonderful thing is…we have been so delighted 100% of the time with these new friends. And that’s the magical thing about blogging and the Internet in general. It has the amazing power to cut through all barriers. Race, religion, income levels…all of those things fall away as you look through the screen. You can find people with similar interests with the click of a mouse. You don’t need to pretend to be anyone you’re not (although some people do)…and there is no need for small talk. You just cut to the good stuff. Our tour is living proof that Internet friendships are REAL friendships!

I have been deeply changed by my online experiences. I have been inspired. I have been brought to tears. I have grown closer to Jesus. I have made life changes. I have new friends for life. I get excited to see what is happening their lives…what types of things they are learning from the Lord, what they did for their birthday…what their kids are up to. Sometimes it’s much more sobering…like how their chemotherapy is going. But at all times, I know I can go to my “secret world” and find encouragement and laughter.

And now…I want to ask YOU:

“How have you been changed by your online friendships?”

Thank you to Alina at The Closet Environmentalist , Cat at Making It Home, and Steph at Adventures in Babywearing for presenting me with the Thinking Blogger Award! If you nominated me and I didn’t list you…please email me and I will edit this!

So now…I am required to list 5 blogs that make me THINK..and those that I nominate are supposed to nominate their own five. It’s so hard to choose just five…I could list 20 (see my blogroll!) but here goes:

• Casaubon’s Book: Thoughtful, intellectual writing. Really great stuff. Be prepared to spend awhile there.
• Living Plastic Free: I’m always on the lookout for people that are doing “radical” things that I haven’t attempted yet. This blog really opened my eyes. Plastic is everywhere.
• Simple Living: A blog that encourages action…especially her newest challenge.
• Making Home: An amazing Christian woman tackling the hard issues. A lot of fun reading on her site.
• Simplicity Soup: Rachel is beautiful on the inside and out. Her posts make me smile and sometimes I wonder if we don’t share a brain.

Wheeeee! Isn’t color much more fun? I’ve made a few changes to my blog with the help of Swank Web Style. I designed the new header and they installed it into WordPress with all the new features. If you’re interested in having me design a header for your blog…let me know and I can give you the details.

So what’s new? Well…if you’ve ever tried to read the archives on my blog, you will probably agree that with Blogger, it was pretty frustrating. Now, all of my previous posts are categorized and listed along the left sidebar…so you can “research” with ease. I’ve also added more links and a “blogroll” (blogs that I read consistently and that have good content). There is a link on the right side that allows you to email me directly…I know some of you have had trouble in the past trying to track me down Lastly, the new web address…which makes it easier to remember and tell your friends!

Welcome to the NEW and improved “Walk Slowly, Live Wildly”!

I came across an interesting blog…No Impact Man. It’s one man’s radical attempt to decrease his family’s “impact” on the earth over the course of a year. It’s inspiring and CRAZY. It’s been in the news lately, so you may have already heard about it…but I know that many of you will enjoy tracking his progress this year as they live mindfully.