Amy Beth

  • A Tip for Motherhood

    I’ve discovered a very helpful tip for motherhood thanks to a recent Google image search.

    You see, part of my job involves finding images to show during my pastor’s sermons on Sundays. Many times this involves finding images of people experiencing certain emotions. For this particular sermon I needed to find an image of a mom who was feeling stressed out or overwhelmed. Here is a sampling of some of the images I found. See if you can come up with the handy tip…

    Unknown-2Unknown-1stressed-mother-in-kitchenimages-4images-2images-5

    Did you notice it?

    Let this be a lesson from Google:

    Small children, telephones, and the kitchen do not mix.

    Just don’t even try. Then maybe you won’t end up looking like one of these lovely ladies.

    Maybe.

  • How Dreams Can Change

    When I was younger my dream house looked like this:

    Victorianhome1

    Or this:

    Victorian-house-exterior

    I have always had a thing for homes with character.

    But today I was neighborhood shopping with google street view. (Surely you’ve done that too). As I clicked my way along a street not too far from where we live now, I suddenly realized that my dream home might be right there.

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  • Navigating Nutrition – Introduction

    navgatingnutrition

    I’m standing in a grocery store aisle trying to pick out some snacks for my husband to take to work. They need to be filling and substantial, but I feel like they should also be healthy. So I stand around and consider labels. This snack is “all-natural” but full of soy. Didn’t I read somewhere that soy is bad for you? This one is low-fat, but full of sodium. This one is low sodium, but has a million preservatives. I suppose I could just get an apple, but isn’t fruit high in sugar?

    Does this feel familiar to anyone?

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  • For Scary Times

    Sometimes it’s hard to listen to the news. News about unstable nations that don’t seem to listen to reason. News about stable nations that can’t seem to agree on anything. News about the blatant disregard taken towards our environment. News about crazy dictators who may or may not have access to horribly destructive weapons. News about humans reduced to commodities. The list goes on and on…

    Being a mother has changed the way I hear these stories. I used to just shake my head in disappointment. Or get all righteously indignant about the ways the rulers of the world rule the world. But now I worry. And fear.

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  • Hooray for the Internet!

    I thought I’d share a few of the things I’ve been enjoying on the internet lately.

    #What I’m reading

    [Keeping Kids From Toy Guns: How One Mother Changed Her Mind – Atlantic Mobile](http://m.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/08/keeping-kids-from-toy-guns-how-one-mother-changed-her-mind/278518/) – This is an interesting article discussing the zero-tolerance stance many schools take these days on guns and whether it is actually beneficial. The most thought provoking line:

    “There is no easy answer when my Japanese friends wonder at the paradox of our banning gun play when we do not ban the guns that kill thousands of children and teens in the U.S. each year.”

    [A place you can always return to | Simple Mom](http://simplemom.net/a-place-you-can-always-return-to/) – This is a sweet story about a couple’s favorite place. My favorite line:

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  • August in Review

    Once again I’m linking up with Emily at [Chatting at the Sky](http://www.chattingatthesky.com) to share the things I learned this month. Here they are in no particular order.

    1. Apparently I am a very sweet person because mosquitos love me. Upon stepping out the door I will get no less than 5 new mosquito bites every time. My husband (who mosquitos seem to ignore) found [this interesting article](http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2013/07/why-do-mosquitoes-bite-some-people-more-than-others/) about why mosquitos are more attracted to certain people. Unfortunately it’s not very helpful, as mosquitos seem to be attracted by uncontrollable factors like blood type and the kinds of invisible bacteria that live on your skin. However, [if we could just find a high powered fan to blow across our entire back yard](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/16/science/a-low-tech-mosquito-deterrent.html?_r=1&) I think we’d be golden.

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  • Pasta Any Way you Like It

    I love a meal that doesn’t require much planning. If it just so happens to be delicious that’s even better. One of our favorite meals around these parts is this simple and flexible pasta dish. It works with almost any vegetable and any kind of meat, so it’s a great dish for those days when you aren’t sure how the odds and ends in your pantry are going to make a meal.

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  • Cloth Diapering: The Why’s and What For’s

    The decision to use cloth diapers was probably one of the first parenting decisions I ever made. Right off the bat, I decided to go the unconventional route. This perhaps should have been a warning of things to come. I think I knew of a few friends who had done it, so for some reason during that overwhelming time of preparing to BECOME A PARENT I decided to spend my time reading about diapers. Maybe that seemed simpler than childbirth or discipline. But whatever the reason, many of the advantages to using cloth diapers resonated with my aspirations to be some kind of earth-loving minimalist anti-establishment homestead-y type of person. I have not actually achieved any of those titles, but I do cloth diaper. So there’s that.

    Why cloth?

    First of all, why would someone choose to cloth diaper? Isn’t it a lot more work? And do mothers of new babies really need more work to do? My answers: not really, and definitely not. We have been using cloth diapers for a year and half. It’s such an ingrained part of our routine now that I rarely even think about the fact that we are doing something odd, and of all the new experiences that come with being a new parent, cloth diapering barely even registers on the radar of “difficult things.” So once you get over the fear that it might be a lot more work, there are actually a lot of reasons why you might choose to use cloth diapers on your new little bundle of joy.

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  • Because you’re waiting with bated breath (or, how to follow blogs)

    Blogs are great. They are full of ideas and tips and inspiration. But keeping up on all of your favorite ones can be quite a chore sometimes. How do you know when one is updated? How can you keep from missing anything important? How can you make sure you never miss another post from Little Place Called Home? (I know that is of utmost importance to all of you.) Well, it turns out there are a lot of options.

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  • White Space

     

    White space is a concept familiar to graphic designers. While some may see it as empty or wasted space, the good designer knows that white space can be used to get the eyes to rest on what is most important. It helps clarify and organize the message. It gives the brain room to process.

     

    I’m learning that white space is not just a concept for design. It can be a concept for life. I’m trying to find places where more white space would be beneficial – such as on my calendar, in my home, in my writing. I want to have space to focus on what’s most important.

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