SortaCrunchy

Help Me Pack for Blissdom!

So. That video? Is Blissdom '11. I'm sharing it today because I need a little help from you on what I should pack for Blissdom '12.

Because I leave in 9 days.

For Blissdom.

Interally, there is a lot of happy squee-ing and squealing going on right now.

I have to say, I really, really stressed out about what to wear to BlogHer '11. I bought a bunch of new clothes and didn't end up wearing most of them. I am NOT stressed out about what to wear to Blissdom, but I do want to hear your insights on what to pack.

So if you aren't familiar with Blissdom, watch that little video up there so you can get a feel for the look and the vibe of the conference and let's chat.

My Blissdom Schedule

Wednesday: travel day. I'll be driving my girls to the home of family members to stay for a while, and then driving to the airport. I leave OKC at 6 in the evening, change planes in Denver (because THAT makes sense!) and then arrive in Nashville at nearly 11 PM at night. I doubt I will see anyone when I arrive, so I'm planning to go super comfortable that day. Probably something like this:

 

Thursday day: I'm so looking forward to this day before the conference officially kicks off. I'm sure I will meet friends for lunch, shop the Blissdom Handmade Marketplace, and then the Newcomers Meeting is that afternoon.

This is the vintage top I found last week, and I'm kind of thinking of wearing it Thursday:

I'm just not sure what to wear with it. When wearing something vintage or retro, it's hard to find the balance between modern and costume-y. On the one hand, I could see this with a high-waisted pencil skirt - maybe in red? Or maybe some high-waisted jeans. I would looooooooove to pair it with these wide leg Jonas pants from Anthro, but I am not about to spend $100 on them:

 

 I might throw a fitted dark blazer over it to balance out the POW of the pattern, or maybe an open chambray shirt. So I'm still deliberating Thursday day. TOTALLY open to your thoughts here.

Thursday night: The official Kick-Off Reception is Thursday night, and the theme is Fiesta. I thought this dress might be nice:

I would belt it, of course, and my pink long-sleeve t-shirt under it and some tights and boots?

Friday day: This is the first day of the actual conference, so there will be lots of walking and lots of engaging in sessions. (I'm a Community Leader in the Writing Track.) I'm digging through past outfit posts, and I was thinking perhaps ...

Outfit A

or this:

Outfit B

or this:

Outfit C

Thoughts?

Friday night: Girls' Night Out. Okay, this is the big dress up night of Blissdom. Cute shoes, sparkly dresses, all that.

Here were some thoughts:

Outfit A: Black silk-blend turtle-neck sweater with gold-lace-over-black skirt. Bright colored tights and maybe some kind of statement necklace.

Outfit B: Much simpler dress, but dress it up with sparkly accessories and bright tights. It's so fun and easy to move in.

Outfit C: I found this Calvin Klein dress at Ross and bought it for BlogHer but didn't end up wearing it:

I thought about pairing it with a sparkly shrug like this one from Sears:

 

 

Thoughts?

Saturday day: More conference sessions. I think I will go with either Outfit A or B from the Friday night choices with more daytime appropriate styling. Or maybe I'll be re-inspired when I pick up my dry cleaning later this week!

Saturday night: Girls' Night In. This is the night to go comfy-cozy. I've heard some people wear nice dresses or sweater and jeans outfits (some come straight from dinner with friends to Girls' Night In) while others break out full-on pajamas. I'll be having dinner with Tsh and the other Simple Living Media contributors who will be at Blissdom that night. I'm planning on my trusty black Nike yoga pants and a t-shirt. I probably need to treat myself to some kind of owl t-shirt, don't you think? (I'll be shopping Etsy, of course).

I would so love to hear any thoughts you have. Thanks for humoring me as I scramble to get ready!

11 Things on the 11th

Long, long time ago, back when I was a wee lass in the blogging scene, survey memes were all the rage in blogging circles. Their popularity died down for a while, but I'm thinking they must be back. In the past month, I've been tagged twice for the 11 Things meme (by Simply Authentic and Bitty Bird). Since I haven't done one of these in a long time, I thought it would be fun to play along today.

RULES

Rules:
1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them that you’ve tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people.

11 RANDOM THINGS

1. I've shared so many random things about myself in the past six years, it is really, really hard to think of things I haven't told you yet.

2. When I was in high school, I wanted to get a degree in Hotel & Restaurant Management and then open my own restaurant in my hometown.

3. I have a major aversion to chain restaurants.

4. I smoked when I was in college - only when I was hanging out with friends or writing.

5. I kept many of my papers from when I was an English major. I think my essay on the poetry of Fleur Adcock may be one of the best things I've ever written.

6. I give my toenails a break from being painted in the winter.

7. I only get my hair cut twice a year. (I'm TERRIBLE. I know!)

8. I am perplexed by the Ryan Gosling fascination.

9. Given the choice between a nanny or a housekeeper, I would choose housekeeper in a heartbeat.

10. I've been saying I need an assistant for a long time. Last month, I actually hired one to help me with online life stuff, and I am so glad I did.

11. My normal body temperature is about 97.3 degrees (I know this after seven years of practicing natural family planning, you see). For me, a fever is anything over 99.

So random, right?

Okay, on to the questions. Since I've been tagged by two people, I'm splitting their lists of questions.

Questions For Me

From Bitty Bird (she tagged me first):

1. Morning person or night owl? Recovering night owl who is now a devoted morning person. I get up at 5 AM every morning.

2. Who do you most admire and why? Oh GOSH. This is tough. I would have to say my late grandparents. (I've written a love letter to them here.) They were just the best people.

3. What is the last thing you purchased for yourself? A fun honeycomb pattern vintage top and a vintage pleated skirt - yesterday at Elusive Vintage in Norman.

4. Do you pay for a manicure or do it yourself? My fingernails are RARELY painted. But if I have painted nails, I've done it myself or someone gave me a gift certificate for a manicure.

5. What is the last book that you read? Julia's Child.

6. If you could have any career that you wanted, right now, what would it be? To be honest, it's this. Writing. The only thing I might tweak is that I would love to have an office/studio area to escape to, a dedicated, stand-alone space that is QUIET and mine for writing. But really, this is the career I've dreamed of for many years!

From Simply Authentic:

7. Most interesting animal you can think of on the planet? Playtpus.

8. The song that takes you back to high school everytime? Oh goodness. So many. SO MANY. Um. Beck's Loser? I guess?

9. You have $500,000 to give to a charity. Who would you give it to? Love146. No question.

10.  Red high-heeled shoes or leopard print flats? The flats! Totally!

11. Preferred way to spend 3 PM? Well, I normally spend the 3:00 hour picking up Dacey from school. I would PREFER to spend it with a mug of hot tea and a great read.

Questions for my taggees:

1. Which season is your favorite and why?
2. What is the best deal you've ever gotten on anything?
3. What is your favorite dessert?
4. When was the last time you went to the dentist?
5. Do you prefer older homes or new construction?
6. What is your favorite social media platform and why? (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, etc)
7. Photography: do it yourself or go to a professional?
8. What is the last thing you made?
9. Thrifting: love it or hate it?
10. Sunrise or sunset?
11. What is your guilty pleasure?

My taggees are the last 11 people with blogs who have commented on a (non-Pinterest, non-giveaway) post at SortaCrunchy:

Play. Fight. Repeat.
My big life change
HopefulLeigh
Milkmaid Mama
A Delightful Home
FriedOkra
Modern Mrs. Darcy
Canon in Deed
Project M
Julia's Child
A Place in the Family of Things

If you've been tagged and don't want to play - NO WORRIES. It's all just fun.

And because I'm more prone to bending rules than following them, I'm saying it: if you wanna play along, consider yourself tagged! *grin*

 

weekend snapshots: february 5

 

Original artwork from George Holguin, found on Pinterest

 

Oh, y'all. What a week it has been.

First of all, Laura and I had a STELLAR meeting with Jonathan that left us both grinning from ear-to-ear. Our joint excitement for the book's release is dialed up to about an 11 right now. Laura wrote a bit more about it here. We are moving ever closer to the actual birth of this book, and it all still feels incredibly surreal. 

Then, there was such an OVERWHELMING response to my piece on healing at Deeper Story. I haven't even made it through all the comments there yet, and I've gotten so many texts, emails, and private messages on the topic. It has knocked me back on my heels in a good but dizzying way. I'm still processing everything, but I have to say that I was NOT expecting the response I've received. Humbled and amazed.

Yesterday, I had a bit of downtime and I decided to clean out my SortaCrunchy email inbox. I found emails left unanswered from MONTHS and months ago, as well as requests for things I have never followed through on. It was such a low moment for me. Thankfully, the vast majority of you all know that I need a warning label and that connecting with me often involves oodles of grace, but I just can't help feeling like such a major creep when I am confronted with things that have slipped past me.

That's why the artwork I featured above stood out to me when I saw it on Pinterest. I feel like I am constantly trying to find the balance between accepting who I am and extending grace to myself but at the same time, not allowing my personality quirks to be a crutch for being insensitive or lazy. Sometimes I get so angry with myself, I just freeze up. I know for other personality types, it's easy just to dust yourself off and move on. I have this need to continually punish and berate myself until I feel I have been properly chastised. And guess what? That perpetuates the ineffectiveness cycle. UGH. It's possible I might need therapy. Not kidding. 

Anyway, my inbox has been cleaned out, and I want to live in the permission to accept a fresh start. In the meantime, if I've missed an email from you, won't you try me again? I am so, so sorry. 

Notables from around the web from those who were not so engaged with naval-gazing: 

Mama Monk: Simplicity: Meat and Spiritual Practice:

So, as I began thinking about that and wanting to make a change, I found it was difficult to afford organic grass-fed or free range meat. I was struggling between meeting our budget and adhering to my newly forming conviction.

I know I link to Micha quite a bit, but frankly, she rarely misses. Fantastic and thought-provoking look at how eating meat relates to the pursuit of simple living. 

A Deeper Story: I Am Not My Holy Spirit:

“I know I need to quit.” She turned and hobbled down the hall. I followed her with the scraps. “But when God saved me in my twenties, I told him that I was too old to fiddle around. I needed Him to put me on the fast track. He took me up on that. But He hasn’t told me to quit smoking yet.”

This is an issue that Kyle and I have been pondering with new eyes for a little over a year now. These habits, these things we can't seem to quit, all the struggling and failure and trying in vain. Nothing works until God moves in our hearts and empowers us to experience freedom in that area. It is sanctifying grace and it will not be forced. Beautiful words from Joy on remembering we are NOT, in fact, the Holy Spirit. He will move in and direct us at His pleasure and for His timing. 

And how about something a little light-hearted? Katie shared her recipe for Flubber at TexasNorth. We have done this on MANY a rainy day and it never fails to delight. Love what they did with flubber and animals. :) 

And! I am so SO excited to join Jessica at Quirky Bookworm's Love of Reading Week! You know I do so love to read. Can't wait to share in the book love!

I hope this first weekend of February is warm and cozy wherever you are! 

weekend snapshots: january 15 + #janphotoaday

Happy Sunday, friends!

I kind of ducked out on y'all at the end of last week, but with good reason. Laura and I are thisclose to finishing our first round of book edits. All of my time, energy, thought, and attention has gone into the book for the past few days, but I'm happy to say we are feeling SO GOOD about how the manuscript is shaping up. Our editor, Jonathan, is fantastic and once again we feel so incredibly blessed to be part of the Civitas Family.

Now, on to my Instagram shots from my #janphotoaday project (created by fatmumslim):

9. daily routine: mine is coffee and a calendar first thing in the morning

10. childhood: One thing I love about this challenge is that so much of it is open to interpretation. Many people chose shots of themselves from when they were children, while others posted pics that exemplified childhood for them. I chose a shot of an organic cheddar bunny I found when I was making our bed that morning. We don't eat in our bed and the girls certainly aren't allowed to either. And yet, there he was. It made me smile a little bit though because isn't that what living in the midst of childhood is? Crackers where there should be no crackers?

11. where you sleep: but y'all already know that

12. close-up: little girl nails

13. in your bag: I confess that I didn't take this shot until this morning. I didn't open Instagram once while I was in the writing zone. But I'm determined to finish this challenge, so better late than never!

14. something you're reading: I JUST started Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. So many people have told me it's their favorite from the series and I cannot wait to get really into it. In the meantime, however, I'm reading my review copy Julia's Child: A Novel by Sarah Pinneo. From the cover: "A delectable comedy for every woman who's ever wondered if buying that six-dollar box of organic crackers makes her a hero or a sucker." Hee! Full review coming soon!

 

 

Other notables from the week:

This dairy-free, GAPS and primal-friendly recipe for pear custard at Health, Home, & Happiness looks delicious!

My friend Ed Cyzewski released an e-book that I hope to dig into soon: Divided We Unite: Practical Christian Unity

Has anyone used activated charcoal for teeth whitening? As you can imagine, I have seriously stained teeth from the ridiculous amounts of coffee I drink. Wellness Mama posted about using activated charcoal to whiten teeth and I'm tempted to try it. Thoughts?

Civitas announced a new community project called Finding Church. I LOVE the topic, and I can't wait to see how this collection comes together. Perhaps you have an essay to contribute?

As soon as I hit publish on my post, I'm going to fill out my nomination ballot for the 2012 Bloggies. This award has been around for a long time and I think the process is one of the most democratic approaches out there. I've found some amazing new blogs through the award winners!

Later this afternoon, I've got a book review and giveaway to share. Stay tuned!

 

2011: a lazy look back

And the sky turns to fire, against a telephone wire.
And even I'm getting tired of useless desires.

-- Patty Griffin, Useless Desires

This picture? Is one of my very favorites from 2011. I can't look at it without humming that Patty Griffin song (also one of my very favorites).

I've been mentally composing a year-end list for the past week, but it just hasn't made it from my mind to the keyboard yet. This has been a completely lazy week and it is so, so needed. Related: finally started the Harry Potter books and cannot tear myself away from them. I'm just about to finish book 2 and I am already sad that eventually they will end.

Anyway, just for fun and to lure me away from utter laziness, I thought I would write up a few of the highlights of 2011:

Favorite reads: Non-fiction - Carolyn Curtis James' Half the Church; Fiction - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. So, so many books, but for the sake of brevity (what?), I'll keep it to two here.

Favorite album: The Civil Wars Barton Hollow

Favorite music discoveries for me that apparently everyone else already knew about: Mumford and Sons, Adele, Sara Bareilles, She & Him, Neko Case

Netflix fun: LOST marathon. I'll never get over it, y'all.

Most fun with currently running TV: Once Upon A Time

Biggest TV disappointment: Project Runway Season, Season 9

Movie I Enjoyed: Hmmm. The Help? I guess.

Technology love: Pinterest and Spotify.

Best use of our home: hosting Katie and family, Laura and family, Superbowl Party, our church's one year birthday party potluck, and just about anytime we open our doors to others. We love to have people here.

Most highly anticipated family events: My youngest sister Sarah receiving her first degree and my next youngest sister Emily receiving her Masters in Education degree! YAY!

Most enjoyable travel: San Diego for BlogHer

Most rewarding project: Give: LOVE

BIGGEST SURPRISE: well. the book.

Other surprises:

* becoming a What I Wore Wednesday devotee

* caving in and getting an iPhone (and how much I LOVE it)

* the response when I showed y'all this is where ...

* my husband's super incredible ridiculous culinary prowess

Most used and enjoyed iPhone apps: Instagram and BlogLovin'

Favorite snapshots taken by me:

My girlies, January

My brother on his wedding day, March

AJ dancing in rain boots, April

Dacey's first sewing project, May

Our fairy house, June

Dacey splashing in the springs, July

Aliza Joy turns four, September

I think that will just about do for a look back on the year!

What have your highlights been? Are you ready to see this year go, or you a little wistful at its passing?

sunday smiles

"I wish I had earrings just like these."

You guys.

Thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your encouragement and your prayers. I woke up this morning feeling so refreshed and energized and - most importantly - no longer feeling afraid. I can feel your prayers in a very tangible way. Thank you.

So many things are making my spirit light and happy this morning. Here is a sampling:

long-sleeved owl nightgown on my oldest girl child who wakes up in the morning and goes to sleep at night thinking about art

Puddles! We got a soaking rain last night and more is expected today. PUDDLES, y'all!

I know Occupy Wall Street is all serious business. The happenings on Wall Street are sorta bread and butter for our family, so I'll stay out of that commentary, but this very serious side issue is one that must be dealt with too, don't you think? It's time we call out Cookie Monster on his cookie greed, amirite?

Sometimes when I need quick pick-me-up, I search "polka dot dress" in the vintage section of Etsy. Well yesterday, I found this darling number at Grandma Marie Vintage and marked it as favorite. I mean, look at it. How can you not smile?

I went back to admire it some more, and it's gone! I'm kind of sad, but also smiling to think that it is going to a good home somewhere where someone will surely smile each time she wears it.

(was it you? tell me honestly!)

Elsewhere:

The multitude of incredibly helpful links y'all are sharing each week for Your Green Resource. Wow. The recipes alone shared this past week are enough to inspire and keep my busy for a while!

Of course I want to play with them at Parenting. Illustrated with Crappy Pictures. Made me smile and tear up a little bit.

I'm clearly the last person on earth to discover Rubyellen and cakies, but for heaven's sake. Love at first sight for me. Her four beautiful daughters, their lovely names, every single bit of her About page ... It's all just making my heart sing.

Sneaking in minutes here and there to work on the blog face-lift. Thank you for your feedback! Here's a little hint ...

What is making you smile this lovely October weekend?

birthday: three four

Today is my birthday. (34)

Birthdays invite all manner of navel-gazing for me. You, too? I've been ruminating on some things today.

Por ejemplo:

Why are gray hairs so stinkin' ornery? Do you have gray hair? Do you color or pluck?

Been thinking about the bloggeh, and:

1) I'm thinking of putting an FAQ page together because I find I am often emailed the same sorts of questions. Mostly, people want to know my recommendations on cloth diapers, babywearing carriers, vaccination choices, natural family planning, etc.

Can you think of anything you've wanted to ask that I could add in as well?

2) I've been sharing links via delicious for quite a while now. (Subscribers have these delivered to feed readers or inboxes; non-subscribers may not have noticed a difference.)

What do y'all think of that system? Do you like it? Or would you prefer a dedicated link-sharing post every now and again?

3) This is pretty big. You all know I love my owls. I love this design that Karen created for me so much. But my Gemini feet, they get to itchin'. I've been deliberating moving to a photo-type banner. Thoughts?

Feel free to weigh in on any, some, or all of these questions. Or none. Whichever.

But it is my birthday, you know.

*wink*

Pinterest: A Beginner's Guide

So what is all of this about? What is Pinterest?

Last month, I shared with you that I am absolutely loving Pinterest. I've been thrilled to discover that more and more of my friends are signing up, and now that I've been using it for a few months, I thought it might be helpful to share what I've learned in an effort to make get started on it a little less daunting.

There is a lot to cover, so let's just get started:

1) What is Pinterest?

You can read from Pinterest's About page that they describe it as

a virtual pinboard — a place where you can create collections of things you love and "follow" collections created by people with great taste.
People use Pinterest to collect and share all sorts of things -- wedding inspiration, favorite T-shirts, DJ equipment. You name it, people are pinning it.

Yeah, that pretty well sums it up.

2) How do I get a Pinterest invitation?

Leave a comment on this post and I will send you a Pinterest invite!

3) How do I get started on Pinterest? How do I set up my Pinterest page?

So, once you've gotten your invite, the first thing you'll do is set up your profile page.

As you can see, your profile will show whatever you choose for your display name, a profile picture, a bio/description if you so choose (and I think you should), and how many followers you have as well as how many you are following.

When you open a new Pinterest account, you will be given these five templates for boards:

You can keep these five boards to get started, but you certainly don't have to. You'll notice in the screenshot from my profile above that below each of my boards there is an "edit" bar. Click on this and you can name/rename a board, write a description for that board, choose a category (required by Pinterest), determine if you are the only one who can pin or if it's a shared board, or just delete the board altogether. Be sure to click on Save Board Settings when you are done!

 At the top of your profile page, in the right-hand part of the screen, you'll see various drop-down menus to help you navigate your own settings and boards as well as discover others on Pinterest. That's all pretty self-explanatory:

Click on Rearrange to arrange in which order you boards appear on your profile page.

4) How do I navigate Pinterest?

Great question! This is perhaps the most overwhelming part when you first begin.

If you are logged into Pinterest, you can hit the Pinterest icon in the top left-hand corner of your screen to go to your Pinterest home.  Just like going to your home page in Facebook or Twitter, this will show you your feed. Here you will see all of the recent pins of the people you follow.

Bear in mind that everyone who follows you will see everything that you pin in their feed.

From your home page (not profile - your Pinterest home), you will see a link to Discussions. This will show you what is hot on Pinterest at the moment based on comments and repins.

Next to that is the link to Everything. This brings up the feed for, well, everything.  The most recent pins from everyone on Pinterest are featured in this feed.

Finally, there is the Gift feed which features pins tagged with prices grouped conveniently into price ranges. 

*** At this point, I want to say that my #1 Tip for getting started on Pinterest is this: before you set up your first board and before you pin a single thing, click on the Everything feed and just spend some time looking. This will help you to see what kinds of things people are pinning, what kinds of boards others have created, and just give you a general feel for what Pinterest is about. I did not do this when I first started, and I wish someone had told me to do that first. ***

5) How do I pin something to Pinterest?

As explained by the good folks at Pinterest, use the Pin This bookmarklet. NOTE: I've gotten lots of feedback from IE users that it's difficult to use the Pin This bookmark in Explorer. As a long-time Firefox user, I don't have any good solutions for you.  Just know if you have problems in IE, you aren't the only one!

6) What should I pin on Pinterest?

Ah, good question. I am so glad you asked.

While technically these are your pinboards and you can pin anything you want, I want to encourage you to lean heavily on the interest part of Pinterest. For example, Pinterest lets you start off with a Products I Love board. Well, maybe you really love Starbucks Sumatra. (what's not to love?)  You could pin a picture of a bag of Starbucks Sumatra to the Products I Love board, but you can also grab a bag of it off the shelf at your local big mart. Starbucks Sumatra, while delicious, is not all that interesting.

What might be a better pin?  Oh, how about sharing your love for the unspeakably, incomprehensibly amazing coffee that can only be found at Ruta Maya coffee in Austin? That is interesting.

While you are it, challenge yourself to make your boards themselves interesting. Some of my favorite boards are Rachel's From Texas board, the tiny twig's good writing board, and Nish's Inked board. Don't be afraid to get as specific as possible with your boards, and it never hurts to be original with board titles.

Think of your Pinterest boards as if they were actual 3D inspiration boards. What is it that is beautiful to you? What do you dream of having, seeing, doing, hearing, reading, wearing? What is that you want to remember and come back to? Pinterest is all the best about inspiration bulletin boards combined with all the best of social bookmarking. Let that premise guide you as you pin.

7) Who should I follow on Pinterest? How do I unfollow a board on Pinterest?

When you begin, Pinterest will help you find friends on Pinterest using your email, Twitter, or Facebook. That's a great place to start. Pinterest will then make suggestions for you and display those suggestions on your home page. Pinterest has also compiled some nifty Tastemaker lists which are also a fantastic place to find great people to follow (check out the upper right hand corner of the page and find the People drop-down menu; you'll find the Tastemakers lists there).

You have the choice to follow all of someone's boards or follow individual boards they have created. If you follow all, that means that you will follow every board they have at present and all future boards they will create.

Unfollowing a board is super simple. For example, quite a few people have boards related to celebrities. That's not really my bag, so if someone I follow has pinned quite a few things to their celebrity board, I just click on that board from my feed, click the Unfollow button from the top right-hand corner of that board, and voila. Gone from my feed.

8. How do I practice good Pinterest etiquette? Is it okay to pin my own materials (writing, products, etc) to my Pinterest boards?

Absolutely! You can pin something you have blogged or that you carry in your shop (in fact, Pinterest now has a Pin It! button you can use for blog posts or product pages).

You can even create something specifically for the purpose of pinning. I was inspired by this quote from The War of Art, so I whipped this up in PSE for the sole purpose of pinning it:

Depending on your blogging niche, Pinterest could be a fantastic way to share your work and boost your traffic. Fashion, food, crafts/handmade, art, photography, and home bloggers might find Pinterest to be particularly important.

MISCELLANEOUS PINTEREST TIPS

* For every pin, there is a space for a description. I'm more prone to short commentary like, "LOVE" or "want this" or "oh yeah, totally." But you can also provide a full description of the pin or a brief explanation of why you are pinning it (like "this would be perfect for Dacey's Hello Kitty birthday party"). Note that when repinning, the description from the person who pinned it before you appears in that space by default.

* Choose to receive email notifications from your Preferences. This will alert you to new followers, new repins, @ mentions, and likes.

* "Like" is a wonderful and helpful feature on Pinterest. If you come across something that you like but don't necessarily want/need to pin, you can simply Like it. This won't show up in the feed of those who follow you, but you can click on Likes from your profile to see a list of everything you have Liked on Pinterest.

* To tag another Pinterest user when you pin something, use @ just like on Twitter or Facebook.

* Pinterest now has an iPhone app! YAY! I have it and find it to be useful for skimming my feed when I have some downtime or on the rare occasion that I want to snap a pic and pin-on-the-go.

(Like this little guy from AJ's bag of animal crackers who HAD to go on my OWLS OWLS OWLS OWLS board)

So, why should I be on Pinterest?

Is this just another pretty float in an never-ending parade of time-sinks?

I don't think so. Not at all.

As with all good things, it's a good idea to set up some boundaries if you are prone to the time-sinkage. I like to sit down with a cup of coffee right after lunch to really dig into Pinterest for a half an hour or so, and I'll often set the tiny timer to help me keep track of time. You'll find ways to manage time there.

I would love for all of my friends to be on Pinterest because

Beauty - lots of it, everywhere. So inspiring.
Funny - people are endlessly clever.
Practical - projects, recipes (I found a queso blanco dip on Pinterest that is nothing short of divine), home solutions, wardrobe inspiration - Pinterest is nothing if not useful!
Connections - so fun to see what other people are pinning, and you may find, as I have, that you have more in common with someone than you could have ever imagined, and how would have known until you both found yourself swooning over the same vintage sheet cloud mobile?! (hi, Erin!)

Thanks for letting me share what I've learned and loved about Pinterest. Hope to see you there soon!

Want even more Pinterest tips? Click here to read more Pinterest tips, tricks, & FAQs!

Pinterest users - what would add to this beginner's guide?
Anyone want an invite? Let me know in comments below!

various and sundry on a sunday

My heart is full of hope and affirmation. Your comments on Friday's post have reached down into parts of me that I didn't even know where hardening in drought. I feel revived. You all are the best.

You know what else is full? My browser! Full to the point of crashing, I have so many tabs open. I think today would be a great day to release some of those to you.

Shall I number? I feel weird making a list without numbers.

1. Of utmost priority for me to share with you, over at Red and Honey, Beth has graciously interviewed me. If you haven't already, stop over there and check it out, particularly if you are a new-ish reader as there are some background-type things about the history of SortaCrunchy and other things you might enjoy. Beth is a lovely and dear long-time reader and friend, and I loved the questions she came up with for me.

2. You'll note that the picture above is distinctly Instagram. This means that, yes, I've finally given up my long time resistance and gotten an iPhone. (Kyle handed down his 3GS to me when he got a 4.)

Let me ask you, other iPhoners, what are your favorite apps and uses for your phone? One of the reasons I resisted it for so long is that I do not want it to become a time-sink or a major distraction in my life. But, I would like for it be, you know, handy. What apps do you love for yourself, your family life, and your children?

PS - the Instagram shot is from a lunch date with AJ earlier this week. She wore a little Laura Ashley dress that I scored at the last JBF sale (love JBF!), and we had sandwiches and lemonade at the "fancy cafe" while the skies poured down rain. Favorite moment of the week, hands-down.

3. My friend Erin just announced her pregnancy with bebe #2, and in honor of her, I asked SortaCrunchy Facebook fans for current cloth diaper favorites. You can read the feedback over there and chime in with your own recommendation!

4. Tsh, creator and owner of Simple Living Media and my editor at Simple Mom, is measuring interest on creating a Blogging 101 webinar in which she teaches how to how to balance motherhood and home management with running a successful, monetized blog. Does this sound like something you would dig? If so, go read a little more and fill out a form for Tsh so she can determine if this is something she should offer for the community.

5. Y'all know Amber Robinson - author of Mercy Rising who wrote this incredible guest post on Kingdom Justice. Well, next month, her husband Aaron is releasing a CD called Mysteries of the Kingdom which contains tracks specifically written about justice in hopes of educating and inspiring kingdom work. Why don't you head over and like his page on Facebook so you can keep track of all the incredible things happening with this album?

Filing under simple, beautiful, and helpful:

• Perfect iced coffee how-to from Amy at New Nostalgia
• My Frugal Beauty Routine courtesy of Stephanie at Keeper of the Home
• Toddler Activity Book at Tip Junkie

Coming up later this month, I'll be sharing new projects (two of which will definitely help both me and you in making space) from Visionary Mom and Mandi Ehman.  Happy mid-May-ing!

 

What Are You Into This Month - April 2011

(Artist and her rendition of Mama: A Portrait in Clay)

I got lots to share, and I need lots of feedback from you. Let's do this monthly wrap-up style, shall we?

What I Am Into This Month - April 2011

On My Nightstand: Finishing N.T. Wright's Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church - that will be a post in and of itself.

When my sister raves about a book, I know it's good stuff.  Based on her recommendation, I just got Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future.

And I will officially be the last person on earth to read The Help.  Finally grabbed it from Paperback Swap.

Just finished Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life by Jenna Woginrich and it is WONDERFUL.  If you're the wanna-be-homesteader type, you will LOVE this one.  It's charming and whimsical and oh-my-word HELPFUL. Part memoir, part reference book, part how-to . . . it's just delightful.

Want to Read: See sidebar.

T.V. Show Worth Watching: Also filed in the Last Person On Earth folder - we just finished watching LOST.  We somehow missed this show from the beginning, and as you recall that was back in the dark ages of life before Hulu, so we never were able to get on board with it.  We marathonned through it on Netflix and, yeah.  Loved it.  Like, stayed up late at night puzzling over it. Dreamed about it. Worried over it. Sobbed through the finale.  (well, I sobbed.  Kyle's response as we watched the closing credits: "I think that meant more to you than it did to me." Hee.)

 Incredible.

And now we are adrift wondering what shall we watch next?  What do you suggest as good After Lost viewing?  To give you an idea of what we enjoy, we loved: Firefly, Dollhouse, Life, Chuck, Heroes. Totally open to suggestions.

Movie I've Seen (in or out of the theater): Um, Tangled?  Help?!

In My Ears: I pretty much keep Pandora set to my The Civil Wars station.  I edited in Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, Mumford and Sons, Patty Griffin, and The Dixie Chicks (don't hate), and it's pretty sweet perfection.  I could listen to Poison and Wine every day for all of time and never tire of it.

Newest Blog Reads/Internet Interest:

1) Pinterest. Is Awesome. To give you an overview, I want to share this link that Aimee tweeted to me when I asked about Pinterest on Twitter: Tidy Mom's Pinterest: I'm Lovin' It.

What do I love about it? It's like taking a peek over the shoulder of your friends as they dig through their blog readers or window shop their favorite stores or search for great recipes. You get to see what they are digging, and instead of adding it to a bookmark list, you can just tack it on a board to share with others or come back to later. 

Are you on Pinterest?  You can follow me there.

2) Some people expressed how much they enjoyed the #40DayCommunity on Twitter as we shared in the Common Prayer readings together, so a small group of us are going to continue in that via hashtag #commonprayer  You can buy the book (which, yes, I recommend) or all of the readings are available online.  We would love to have you join in!

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month:

Mother's Day.

School letting out and having my Dacey home all day.

Opening of farmers' markets.

SAM'S sized bag of salt-and-pepper pistachios.

The Rally to Restore Unity next week - hosted by Rachel Held Evans.

Spring-y spring spring time.

* * * * *

So, yeah.  That's a lot. 

But to sum up, what I need to know from you: TV series recs (available via Netflix), movie recs, book recs (always), and anything else you want to say about what you are into this month. 

(It seems like I am always changing around the categories - to see what else I've been into, click here.  If you do your own What Are You Into post, make sure to link up in the comments!)