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Have You Ever Had a Green Smoothie?

By on May 2, 2011

I found green smoothies a few years ago. When I first tried them, I offered the drink to my kids and they ran off to hid their heads in the pillows. I had to pay my kids 25 cents to try them. Since then, my youngest and I fight over who gets the last sip.

The reason I drink my greens is that it’s hard to consume enough greens for any large health benefit without putting too much salad dressing on a salad. So I make smoothies. I find that if I have a green smoothie for three or four days straight in a row, I actually crave them.

The smoothies consist of kale, spinach or any other type of  greens,  and any fruit you want to add. I keep them simple with spinach and I throw in any fruit we happen to have. Spinach is an excellent source of antioxidant nutrients including vitamin C and E, beta-carotene and others. I blend all of it up in my Vitamix with a tad of water until it’s smooth.

Experiment with different fruits. A frozen banana thrown in makes the drink very refreshing. If you haven’t ever had them, I’d make them sweeter at first with more fruit and less greens. As you develop a taste for them, you can add more greens to the mixture. There are loads of GS recipes online.

Have you ever had a green smoothie? Would you try one?

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What I’ve Learned From Blogging So Far

By on May 1, 2011

I have been blogging for just about a year but have not been consistent by any means. My first love is writing parenting articles for regional parenting magazines. (See sidebar) As an older mom, it’s fun to come up with ideas to write about to help younger moms streamline their life, provide resources for them and encourage them along on their journey.

However, blogging kept calling my name. Not too sure why. There’s no money in it as of right now but still I love it. So what have I learned so far?

1. That I have to work at being nice


Since blogging is such a personal experience, I’m pretty open about my opinion. However, there is quite an art to portraying your realistic thoughts on paper or on a screen. And I have a tendency to be sarcastic. Now, when my older kids are being sarcastic, it sounds funny. But when my younger kids say something  sarcastically, it sounds snotty. And blogging has brought it to my attention how ugly it can be when I see it on the page. Ugh!

“The right word

at the right time

is like precious gold

set in silver.”

Okay, I’m working on that.

Now I know why there’s a delete key. More often than not, I have to remind myself that life isn’t about me.

2. I rely too much on other’s comments to validate me


After I post, I wait for comments. I LOVE COMMENTS but I need to move on and let things go. Wow, remember when you were young? I mean really young? And you thought that when you reach the age 20, 30 or even 40, you’d be mature and all grown up? I’m still asking the Lord to mature me and not rely on man’s approval but it’s hard.

Blogging can be a not-so-pretty mirror.

3. There will be hits and misses with different posts.

It surprises that sometimes I’ll post about something and I get a lot of reaction and comments. Next time I post, I won’t hear from anyone. This tells me that I have to keep writing and writing and writing. I need to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I’ll have to continue this discussion for another day. There’s so much more I want to share.

Tell me what you’ve learned from blogging? Does it surprise you? Or does it scare you?

Photos by Charkrem

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Do You Have Questions About Blogging?

By on April 30, 2011

Okay, I wasn’t going to blog anymore about the Blogathon. (Sign up ends tomorrow at 11 p.m. PST.)

However, I just spent some time on the Blogathon 2011 Google Group looking at people’s questions and answers. And I have to say that this group is

the nicest,

most helpful

group of people. Holy cow!

So…

if you didn’t join because

you don’t want to look foolish,

or you had too many questions about

blogging.

Stop procrastinating

and join

today.

Michelle set up a Google group that all the participants are part of and you can ask any question imaginable.

Okay…I’ll get off my soapbox.

 

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Are You Fearful of a New Adventure?

By on April 27, 2011

How many ideas have you shoved back inside your head into the dark recesses of your mind? Adventures that you’d like to try but you don’t because of all of the doubts that yell NO.

“You won’t be very good at it. You can’t be serious? You’ll fail.”

Starting a new business, writing a book, taking a class, starting a blog, running around the block, running a 5K, designing anything, learning how to tweet, volunteering, traveling, going back to school…you know the drill.

Do you have dreams that you’d like to try but are fearful to start? What’s causing the resistance?

Yet, those squished ideas creep out at night when it’s quiet. They peep around your shoulder when you’re looking at yourself in the mirror. Is He nudging you?…God is there even if you’re scared to try.

You think about them when you’re driving the car and you hear a word in a song that reminds you of it. Yet, the enemy of our soul wants to discourage you.

You won’t even speak the words to a close friend or your spouse because then you’d be somewhat committed?

I believe we have God-given goals in our lives for a reason. But we’re often too scared to speak them let alone begin a new path.

Entertain the thought : I’d like to try…____________ (fill in the blank).

Nudge.

What dreams do you have? If you could dream as big as God is…what would He want you to do?

What are your dreams? Can you give me a hint even if you have to write it in a secret code? He knows.

 

Photos by myloveforyou

And I must apologize for dropping the ball and not announcing the winner of The Happiest Mom giveaway. The winner was Melissa Strohl. I’ve sent her name to Meagan Francis.

Remember there are only a few days to sign up for the WordCount’s 2011 Blogathon.

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Holidays Can Be Hard

By on April 20, 2011

It would be pretty impossible to miss the fact that Easter is right around the corner. Advertisements are chocked full of Easter bunnies and frooffy dresses. Blogs and tweets are full of Bible verses speaking of hope and life. A Hope that gives us all abundant living.

Yet, this is a small place in my heart that is sad because Easter is another holiday.

A holiday that I and my immediate family don’t spend time with “family family” because both my inlaws and family live 1,000 miles away. We’ve been in another state for 18 years, and you’d think that by now I’d find a surrogate family.

But years are sometimes like oreo cookies.

You have a stack of them next to you with a cold glass of milk while you’re reading facebook. And before you know it, you look down and the cookies are gone. You wonder where they went as you wipe your mouth on your sleeve.

In the past, I just held my breath and tried to make it through a holiday without making it particularly special. I missed both families but didn’t know how to fix it or change it.

I dropped the ball in that area with raising my kids.

My kids aren’t used to hanging out with weird smelling aunts or strange uncles. They didn’t see me rolling my eyes or holding back tears if an unkind remark was made about a new fruit salad. They didn’t have to hear about family fights or grandpa’s gas.

So this holiday, think about inviting someone over that doesn’t have family nearby. Ask the college student that can’t go home for the weekend or the neighbor that lives alone. They probably won’t mind your weird relatives and will feel right at home. And they’ll probably be thankful for the invite.

Well, after all this talk, I better run.

Excuse me while I’m off to Facebook to tell my two big kids who are away at college to invite any of their friends over for Easter dinner at our house. I’ve got some cooking to do.

Photo by Grzegorz Lobinski

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2011 Blogathon is Almost Here

By on April 18, 2011

Have you ever thought about blogging? Do you have a blog now but find it difficult to find content to blog about? Do you need some motivation to keep up with it?

Or how about, do you like prizes?

Then join me along with other fellow bloggers in WordCount’s 2011 Blogathon for the month of May. Last year I had given it some thought about joining and at the very last moment decided to resurrect my decrepit blog and started on May 1st. (I don’t recommend that though.)

Below are some reasons to join taken directly from Michelle Rafter’s Wordcount post:

But there are plenty of reasons why it pays to become obsessed with blogging for a short time:

  • To gain experience to look for paid blogging work.
  • To gain expertise in a subject you want to write about for paid markets.
  • To build traffic.
  • To etablish yourself as an expert.
  • As part of building a personal brand.
  • To help promote a book, e-book, e-newsletter or other product or service you’re selling or hoping to sell.
  • To start a blog – or a second or third.
  • To improve your SEO skills.
  • To make money from advertising, affiliate programs or other blog-based enterprise.

Friends, please think about it. I met some great, helpful people. I learned more than I expected. Michelle R. challenged me to learn twitter and I’m so glad I did. And I happened to win two of the many great prizes they had for bloggers who finished the entire blogathon.

And remember you can blog about anything. It’s your gig. Also, there are some preplanned ideas throughout the month of May that will help you with ideas. You get to add this badge to your blog, too…Whoever designed this badge is a genius. Did you notice the color?

All you need to do is visit Michelle’s blog and fill out a simple form. Please, let me know if you have any questions. So are you going to join?

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Happiest Mom, Part 2: Writing the Book

By on April 13, 2011

When I found out that IMP3RfeCT Mom was selected to be part of the blog book tour, not only did I want to ask Meagan Francis a myriad of questions about Happiest Mom but I HAD to ask her about the process of writing it. However, I had to moderate my excitement that I was talking to a real live author and ask only four questions.  🙁

I knew she had to answer 30 different sets of questions for this April book tour.  So I behaved myself. Here is the last question and her answer.

Did you start your blog with the specific aim of writing a book? At what point did you realize you had a book?  How long did it take you to write?

I had actually been thinking of writing about happier motherhood for years–since the mid-2000s, when I really began to notice how many books and blogs were all about the challenges of being a mom. They were great for helping us feel more normal and not so alone, but they usually didn’t offer much hope that you could actually be a mom AND be happy! But I didn’t know that I had enough good material for a book or that anyone would want to read it. So I started the blog as a way of exploring some of the things I felt were getting in between moms and their happiness, and after a few months it was clear I had plenty to say on the topic and that it was striking a nerve with a lot of people. A book was the next logical step.

The book took about 4 months total to write, including back-and-forth with editors and final revisions. It’s all new and different content from my blog, but since it’s so heavily inspired by what I’d been writing about, the research part had already been done!

Again let me thank Meagan for being my guest. Please pick up a copy of this book and take a look. It’s like talking to a comfortable mom buddy who tells you to relax and enjoy your kidlets. She gives you real life tips and tells you like it is.

Remember to leave up to three comments on the previous post to enter to win a copy of Happiest Mom. (Deadline: today 12:00 midnight, PST) Isn’t the book cover cute?

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Here’s a Wordcloud of My Site…

By on April 11, 2011

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The Happiest Mom Book Giveaway

By on April 10, 2011

I’d like Meagan to come live next door to me. Really.

It’s my pleasure to introduce Meagan Francis, writer, mom of five and author of the new book, The Happiest Mom: 10 secrets to enjoying motherhood. Are you a little too hard on yourself? Do you grumble often about being a mom? Well, grab a cup of coffee and sit a spell. Meagan is warm, funny and has loads encouragement for you as a mom in HM. As an experienced mom, I was a little hesitant when I started reading it because what could she tell me that I don’t know? Oh.My.Was.I.Wrong! Meagan has a heart for moms and fabulous ideas to enjoy your family today. Below is a brief interview I had with her:

Comparing and measuring ourselves with other moms is a large contributor to our own guilt. What simple steps can a mom do to stop this behavior?

I think there are two things we can do: first, stop putting other moms up on pedestals. It’s great to admire somebody or think she’s a great role model, but nobody is perfect and nobody has it all together. When we’re trying to emulate somebody’s good qualities we also have to keep in mind that she has not-so-good qualities too, even if we never see them. Otherwise we’ll always feel discouraged and demoralized by our own failings, which are really just part of being human. 

The second thing we can do is not take part in cutting other moms down. Even reading judgmental blog posts makes me feel uncomfortable, because I start to wonder what people would say about me to their friends or blog readers if they saw me out with my kids or could peep into my windows. And when you feel judged–even potentially judged!–it starts that whole cycle of defensive judgment on your own part. It’s a losing game, because none of us are all right and very few of us are all wrong.

The more we extend grace to others the easier it is to extend it to ourselves. And the more we extend grace to ourselves the easier it is to extend it to others.

I love that you talk about the blame game and how it deflects responsibility away from ourselves. If a mom recognizes that she plays the game, what can she do differently today?

Knee-jerk blame is my number-one indicator that something is off in my own life or priorities and I’m trying to shift the focus away from me. Or sometimes it’s myself I’m blaming even when whatever went wrong wasn’t really my fault. Either way it usually comes from having unreasonable expectations of myself or others. 

One way to figure out if I’m unfairly finger-pointing is to ask myself questions like “Does this really matter?” “What role did I play in this?” “Am I being fair? “How could this go differently next time?” “What’s the real issue here?”

I think in any situation where you’re feeling uncomfortable, guilty, or angry, asking yourself questions like these before you react can help you get to the heart of the issue and gain perspective.

What changes have you made in your mothering, after writing your book?

Writing about being a happier mom almost daily for two years has been great for me, because I find myself living out my life as a mother so much more intentionally now. I still have bad days, and I still get angry, overwhelmed and sometimes react unreasonably. But because I’ve become so much more mindful, it’s a lot easier for me to re-route those feelings now. I can much more quickly hit the “pause” button, examine what I’m doing, how I’m feeling, and come up with a plan to improve my mood. The great thing is once my mood lifts, so does the rest of the household’s. Day by day I realize more and more how true it is that our feelings are contagious and that a parent’s emotional state really can set the tone for the entire household. That’s a big responsibility, and it’s one I take even more seriously since writing the book.
So if you’d like to enter to win a FREE copy of The Happiest Mom, please leave your comment below by Wednesday, midnight (PST). I’ll use a random number generator to pick the winner.

Here’s HOW to WIN:

1. Leave a comment telling me how you can be a happier mom today.

2. Follow me on twitter and leave a comment telling me you did. (@JanUdlock)

{If you’re already a follower, leave a comment. You guys get one too!}

3. Facebook about the giveaway, and leave a comment, telling me you did.

This counts as three entries and three chances to win. And as always, thank you again, dear mom, for stopping by.

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What are my options for today? and book giveaway

By on April 6, 2011

It’s just one of those days today. Do you know what I mean? My inbox has been rather quiet. I have some assignments to work on but my deadlines are next month. Everybody else’s blogs look amazing. Other moms seem to be very poetic with their words. Their walk with Jesus seems more real than mine. I’m feeling a bit crabby.

Such dreary thoughts.

My kids are doing fine in school. Easter is soon and yet, my heart just doesn’t seem to be in it. It doesn’t help that the Northwest hasn’t received the memo that it’s spring. It’s very gray and very wet outside.

So what are my options? I can wallow in my feelings of emptiness? I can curl up in a ball on the couch and tell my kids, “cereal’s on the menu for dinner tonight.” Or I can tell myself the truth. And what is the truth?

The truth is the Lord loves me today as I am today. I don’t have to have the biggest, most popular blog for Him to be impressed. He saves me daily from myself. He’s way bigger than any of my today feelings. He won’t be shaken with my grouchy thoughts. I am precious to Him even when I don’t feel like it. I need to love my family and forgive any harsh words or laziness just like they need to do the same for me. I don’t even have to be the “most-together” mom either.

He is my enough. Psalm 139 is my refuge that I go to over and over again.

I can choose to be grouchy or I can choose to be thankful for all of the gifts He’s given me…even though I don’t feel like it. It’s my choice to serve Him.

Share with me your “go-to” verse when you’re feeling a little crabby. I’d love to hear your thoughts about cranky days.

NEWS FLASH: Make sure you stop by my blog on Sunday. I’m reviewing The Happiest Mom and having a BOOK GIVEAWAY. Please come by and leave a comment to enter to win.

Photo by Sarzk

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