Month: October 2012

Blog Abuzz Update

The blog’s been abuzz this week. A few links of interest:

where's the beef
where’s the beef

Where’s the Beef?
Yesterday BlogHer published a post you first saw here about the new public school lunch standards, Where’s the Beef?: Public School Lunches Lean on Meat. If you’re all about food and farm (And who isn’t? We all eat, right?), I’d be much obliged if you’d click over to read and comment. Your interest and engagement shows there’s an audience for stories like this. BlogHer recently updated their reach from 40 million to 50 million women a month. That’s a lot of groceries…

Batman and Robin
caped crusaders

Comic Book Capers
Did you catch the Vice Presidential debate? My esteemed Finding (Un)Common Ground co-blogger Lisen Stromberg and I commented on the matchup. Was it young man vs. old man? Rude vs. polite? Seasoned vs. green? Or the Joker vs. Robin?

Voter Prep Video
Earlier this week, I changed my Missouri driver’s license to a Kansas driver’s license and registered to vote here. I video blogged about it in The Adventure and Responsibility of Voter Registration. Here’s a preview (It’s okay to laugh as I’m still learning how to vlog!):

yankee doodle
yankee doodle

Teachable Moments During Election Season
This past Tuesday, BlogHer published my story about engaging kids in the political process. Media literacy, parenting, and politics collide in You Can Watch Election Coverage With Kids. It’s an honor to publish in this forum about such important topics!

Abortion Showdown Looms
Life issues plague our country. Abortion is the elephant in the room this election. Watch for Lisen and I to take opposite stands on the issue first thing this week on Finding (Un)Common Ground.

Checking Out
Everybody feel all updated now? God willing, I’ll be back around mid-week with more in store including the first of the Instead of Hot Dogs recipes and Words to Remember from a famous Greek philosopher. Have an excellent weekend.

Praise the Lord; praise God our Savior!
For each day He carries us in His arms. Psalm 68:19 NLT

You could never run too far. Love will find you where you are.

Ciao, bella!

Posted on by Aimee

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg

This post was featured on Project Underblog on October 29, 2012.

Rumor has it you’ve changed Facebook again. It’s your company. You can do as you please. What you may not realize is that your latest alterations have the blogosphere all a-Twitter.

Mark Zuckerberg by Scott Beale/Laughing Squid, creative commons
Mark Zuckerberg by Scott Beale/Laughing Squid, creative commons license

We blogger types write our little hearts out day after day. We work hard for our fans on Facebook. Oh, I know you have one billion people using Facebook now, so my page’s 254 likes may not mean much to you.

But to me they mean the world.

Many of us lowly bloggers have noticed a significant drop in the number of fans who actually see our posts in their News Feed since your recent changes. We’re scrambling to figure out how to manage. Do we ask fans to add our pages to Facebook Interest Lists? Do we pay to promote our posts? Do we step up our presence on Google+?

Mark,—may I call you Mark?—you may be a visionary like Steve Jobs. A person no one really understands. You may see a future the rest of us can’t quite grasp. More power to you, son.

We stood by you through the Timeline, the Top Stories, the Ticker deal in the sidebar. We survived and learned to thrive. We watched as your social media empire evolved. But there’s something you need to remember.

We make you look good. 

Yes, Mark. Yes, we do. When we invest our energy to promote our content on Facebook and build likes for our pages, we add power to your platform.

On behalf of all the little (and big) blogs, causes, businesses, bands, and others who’ve created Facebook pages for fans, could you give us a break? Keep things fun, simple, and uncomplicated. I like Facebook, I really do. It’s intuitive. More personal than Twitter. More connective than Google+. I want to stick with you, but you must stay true to the mission.

Help us easily connect with our people. 

Now Mark, I know the whole stock thing hasn’t worked out so well for you, but give it time. Trust me. It’s cyclical. It’ll come around. We’re in a recession, in case you haven’t heard.

Wait it out, son. Cut us some slack, and we’ll do the same for you. We’ll give you time to do that crazy coding thing you do. Just make the magic happen, and let the good times roll again on Facebook.

Sincerely,

Aimee

PS: The Social Network may be an unauthorized account of your story, but I loved it all the same.

Surely God is my help; the Lord is the One who sustains me. Psalm 54:4 NIV

Better Be Good to Me by the one in a billion Tina Turner.

Anything you’d like to say to Mr. Zuckerberg
now that we hypothetically have his attention?
Posted on by Aimee 22

Instead of Hot Dogs

I used to be a good cook before I started blogging.

better homes gingham cook books
trinity of gingham

My cookbook collection is outfitted with three shades of Better Homes gingham and Seduced by Bacon. I’m of Italian heritage, and I married into a Midwestern farm family. My stockpile of recipes is hearty. Well-loved. Often made. Until I started blogging.

When I write, my time flies out the window.

Some of you think my mind goes with it, but that’s just the blood sugar plummeting. I’m hypoglycemic; it’s not pretty when I don’t eat.

A couple weeks ago, I realized I’d had hot dogs for lunch three days in a row. I don’t have anything against hot dogs. I like hot dogs. Eating hot dogs once in a while should be a requirement for all good Americans. Right up there with voting. By the way, have you registered yet?

corn dogs
how about corn dogs?

I digress. Back to lunch. It’s time to get off the hamster wheel of writing all morning, stopping to lunch too late only to discover there’s nothing in the house to eat except hot dogs. On Facebook, I joked that grocery shopping had moved to the top of the to-do list. But I know my problem is bigger than that.

I like to write. I like to cook. I need to eat. I can pick two of the three.

Wait a second. I know a lot of women who blog about cooking. They write, cook, and eat. But how?

I asked some of them for help. What sweet salvation they delivered. During the next few weeks, my family will be cooking and eating seven eight of their best recipes. These recipes are easy to make with ingredients that are easy to find.

Explore their sites, preview the recipes, then come back to see the results of a good cooking revival at my house. This promises to be one delicious series!

the way to cook
the way to cook

Tex Mex Lasagna by Nancy at The Wife of a Dairyman 

Southern Greens with a Kick by Justine at A Half-Baked Life

King’s Hawaiian Roll Ham Sandwiches by Leah at Beyer Beware

Spinach and Chick Peas by Simona at Fuel the Body Well

Cheeseburger Pie by Chef Nusy at And Cuisine For All

Mac and Cheese Bites by Dana at Mastering Mommy Brain

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff by Tiffany at She Cooks!

Potato Gratin by Carrie from The Adventures of Dairy Carrie*

For the despondent, every day brings trouble;
for the happy heart, life is a continual feast. Proverbs 15:15 NLT

The Hot Dog Song by Mickey Mouse and the Clubhouse.

What’s your favorite toppings on a hot dog?

*This post was revised at 1 p.m., 10.8.12, to include the Potato Gratin. It has bacon in it. Need I say more?

Posted on by Aimee 14

What I Did All Day

Kim Drew Wright
Kim Drew Wright

Welcome wickedly witty guest blogger, my sorority sister Kim Drew Wright. Today Kim shares a glimpse of the Real Wives of Richmond, Virginia.

He opens the door, takes off his jacket and gives me that look. The one that says, “Why is the house still a mess? Why isn’t dinner ready?”

Instead he says, “What have you done all day?”

I’ve: gotten the kids out of bed, scrambled eggs and poured milk, let the dogs out, made pb&j sandwiches to put in plastic, let the kids help even though it would have been quicker if I did it myself, reminded them to brush their teeth, cleared the breakfast dishes, been saddened by the morning news, braided hair, mediated an argument, picked out clothes, nagged that they are going to miss the bus, yelled to go brush their teeth, tied shoes, found jackets, walked to the bus stop, told them to have a good day, hauled dirty laundry downstairs, unloaded the dishwasher, wiped down the table, loaded the dishwasher, scrubbed stains from shirts, thought about calling my mother before it’s too late, let the dogs in, put laundry in the washer, sent an email about a PTA fundraiser, counseled a friend having marital issues, volunteered at the school library shelving books in order, put the clothes in the dryer before they mildewed, wiped pee off the bathroom floor, forgot to eat lunch, tripped over an abandoned babydoll, tried to remember a conversation from 1982, cleaned up dog puke, ran to the store for miscellaneous items you needed, joked with the cashier to make her day easier, ran into a friend who wanted to do lunch sometime—I think she’s having marital problems, put my tennis shoes on and ran around the neighborhood because according to you a woman my age has to exercise an hour a day just to stay the same weight, gave the dogs a treat, folded laundry and carried it upstairs, took a shower, shoved my skinny jeans aside, answered 11 emails about the fundraiser, considered getting a job with a paycheck, petted the dogs so they would know they are loved, walked to the bus stop, gave our children hugs, gave them a snack, reminded them to wash their hands first, shuffled through school papers, encouraged them to learn from their mistakes, signed up to bring in cookies for a class party as soon as I got the note so the teacher would know I appreciated her, sorted through the mail, swept under the table, screened calls from telemarketers, picked up socks, shoes, jackets and backpacks forgotten in the foyer, listened to our children, reminded them to do their homework, updated Facebook with something cute our children said so I would never forget, yelled for them to turn off the TV, was ignored, took the trash out and, just now, sat down with that book I’ve been wanting to read for 3 months.

“Nothing important,” I say and get up to start dinner.

She carefully watches everything in her household
and suffers nothing from laziness. Proverbs 31:27 NLT

Presenting Steven Tyler and his little band Aerosmith with Crazy… because that’s how we feel on days when we do nothing important.

Steven, Tyler
Crazy Steven & Tyler

What did you do all day?

Kim Drew Wright is a freelance writer, devoted wife, and frazzled mother of three. Most notably, she has excellent taste in dogs.

 

 

Posted on by Aimee 8

The 4-1-1 for the 10-4-12

Here’s the 4-1-1 for today:

when life gives you lemons
when life gives you lemons
  • Lisen and I posted our responses to last night’s presidential debate. Click Finding (Un)Common Ground to read both posts and participate in civil dialogue.
  • Yesterday the BlogHer Conferences Newsletter linked to An Uncommon Meeting. Now I love speed dating!
  • Tomorrow we’ll have a special guest post from a long, lost sorority sister-writer-SAHM who lives with Steven Tyler.
  • As if that’s not enough, there are more surprises in the works. Ones even I couldn’t make up.

Stay sane. Stay sweet. Stay tuned…

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3 NIV

Steady My Heart by Kari Jobe. Beautiful. Even when it hurts, even when it’s hard, even when it all just falls apart, I will run to You ’cause I know that you are Lover of my soul, Healer of my scars.

So how’s your week going?

 

 

Posted on by Aimee 2

Are You Smarter Than a Broadcast Journalist?

If you’re reading this, I know at least two things about you. First, you can read. Second, you have internet access.

i support the liberal agenda
as seen at Target

Another thing I know is that you’re smart. Very smart.

You can think for yourself. You don’t need someone to tell you what the definition of “is” is. You don’t want to be introduced to more spin-doctored phraseology, conspiracy theories, and opinions, all paraded as facts on network, radio, and 24-hour cable news.

Whether liberal or conservative, you know what you believe and what’s important to you. Sadly, you realize your values and experiences are insignificant to the experts in the media.

You may, like the majority of Americans, distrust the media.

Last month, Gallup reported 60 percent of Americans say they have little or no trust in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly. That’s a new record high. And more perceive media bias to be liberal than conservative.

Now before you media mavens get your AP Stylebooks in an uproar, let me state I believe there are good, talented, honest journalists out there who do their best to be true to the craft. They respect the intelligence of their readers enough to go to the extra trouble of checking their biases at the door.

Back in the day when I was in journalism school, the powers that be insisted the media was unbiased. Today the powers that be not only admit media bias exists, they embrace it. The pendulum has swung from denial to excess. Consider this from a story in Mashable last month about the loosening of journalists’ social media etiquette :

“If you asked me two years ago, I would [have] said, ‘No, a journalist should not have an opinion on Twitter,’ ” said Niketa Patel, social media product manager for CNNMoney. But now her thinking has changed. “We are humans, too. We do have opinions. I think as long as you’re not controversial about it, or you’re not overly trying to make a statement, then I think it’s OK…to have somewhat of an opinion,” she said.

For Liz Heron, social media director at The Wall Street Journal, journalists are at their best on social media when they offer analysis and context instead of just the straight story.

i heart mitt
as seen at Target

What? Who said we want journalists to offer anything but the straight story? Are we more concerned with the reporter’s need to express his or her personal narrative than with the audience’s need for facts?

That’s not news reporting. That’s opinion-editorial. That’s creative nonfiction. That’s celebrity in the making. That’s personal blogging!

If you’re still reading this (God love you), I know you care about our country and the upcoming election. You’re concerned. You may even be afraid.

You want to be informed, watch the debates, that sort of thing. But politics can get so mean-spirited and ugly. When you try to keep up with the election news, you end up more discouraged.

Take heart. Embrace your power as a media literate citizen. 

Watch the presidential debate tomorrow night. But watch in a forum free of the biased reporting and analysis that often passes for journalism these days.

large American flag
Old Glory

C-SPAN will air the debates without interruption. Watch the first debate tomorrow live at 9 p.m. EST or re-aired at 11:30 p.m., 2 a.m., 4 a.m., and 5:30 a.m. Or watch it livestreaming online at C-SPAN’s Campaign 2012 Debate Hub.

PBS is another good option. Both C-SPAN and PBS offer analysis before and after the debates, but you’re less likely to see superstar journalists talk over the coverage or break in to narrate like we saw on other channels during the conventions.

Watch the debates free of outside opinion, so you have a chance to form the one opinion that matters first—your own.

He changes times and seasons;
He deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning. Daniel 2:21 NIV

More new music today: The Wallflowers and Reboot the Mission from their album Glad All Over available in stores today. How’s that for timing?

Do you believe media bias exists? What are your plans for watching the debates?

Posted on by Aimee 8

Pumpkin Patch Peril

Last week my son had a day off school, so we trekked 25 miles to meet some of his school mates at Walter’s Pumpkin Patch.

pumpkin arrangement
pumpkin arrangement

This is the first fall in my son’s life we won’t be pumpkin and apple picking at America’s largest, family-owned, pick-your-own orchard, Eckert’s in Belleville, Illinois. We’re mourning the loss of Pumpkin Jamboree weekends and phenomenal fried chicken. But this year Eckert’s is 458.78 miles away.

Yes, I MapQuested it.

corn maze exit
maze exit

Walter’s isn’t the same as Eckert’s, but it’s still a blast. We were there on a weekday, so we had the place to ourselves including paddle boats, underground slides, an in-ground trampoline, corn maze, people-sized hamster wheel, giant seesaw, tree houses, and of course pumpkin picking.

Now my son has never struggled with separation anxiety. From the moment I dropped him off at nursery school, he’s not been one to look back. There are places to go, things to do, people to see. Mom? Mom who?

Walter’s was no different. He jumped head first into the activities, oblivious to my whereabouts. After lunch, he took off with his friends on their next adventure, leaving me in the dust.

I walked over to the country store to to chat up the owner. Turns out she knows the Eckert’s people. We discussed the finer points of Walter’s transformation into a destination farm.

As I strolled out of the store, I saw a small, lonely figure standing a block away from me on the driveway. Was that my child? Was he crying?

“What’s the matter?” I said as I got to him and held him. “Are you okay?”

“I couldn’t find you,” he said. “I thought you left me at the pumpkin patch!”

“Oh, no,” I said, “Mommy will never leave you.”

It was a promise I couldn’t keep, and I knew it the second the words came out.

“Mommy will never leave you at the pumpkin patch,” I said as if that clarification somehow helped.

Life is full of changes and loss. There will come a day when I will leave him—not by choice, never by choice. Death comes at the most inconvenient times.

Or he may leave me first. I pray not by death, but by growing up. His father and I are raising him with the goal that one day he’ll be independent of us. However, I can’t promise I won’t follow him if he moves away. Don’t you want me to be your daughter’s mother-in-law now?

We dried the tears and talked about how we both needed to tell each other where we were going to be, especially in strange, new places.

The school counselor’s words often haunt me, sloshing big buckets of guilt: “Moving is one of the top five most traumatic experiences for a child.”

Oh, Lord, what have we done.

“I miss Eckert’s,” said my son. So do I, baby. So do I.

pumpkin arrangement
pumpkins on porch

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV

Brand new from an album due to release in January 2013, please listen to Need You Now by Plumb.

How do you deal with loss? How do you help your children deal with it?

 

Posted on by Aimee 10