Bugars, Blogging and Netflix

Ah, ah, AH choooooo!  Excuse me! Let me take minute to wipe my nose... There, all better.

I'm just checking in to say howdy  and tell you cold season has arrived at Dandelion House. 

We've done nothing but blow our noses, shovel snow and watch Netflix for what seems like days on end. Poor Max is bored. I'm not sure when the last time I washed my hair was and our daughter told me today we are out of toilet paper... Good thing we have plenty of Kleenex on hand! 

How's your winter going? 

 Here's hoping my blogging buddies are all healthy, happy! 

Hugs, ( from a distance of course) 

Deb

It's a New Day, It's a NEW YEAR!

Dearest Dandelion House friends,

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Are you feeling HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY about the coming year? I sure hope so! I've never been one for making New Year resolutions, but as the years pile up I do try to tick off a few of my bucket list items every year. Here are just a few of the things I hope to accomplish in 2014.

This is my year to " DO ME" better!  I know that's a popular buzz phrase right now and it can sound sort of shallow at first, but it's powerful if you really take it to heart and just go for the purest, funnest and most creative ways to do it!  Imagine what the world would be like if we all really dug deep to try and figure our what that means exactly for each one of us. I can imagine more kindness, beauty, peace and personal happiness for everyone. A safer world, a GREENER world and time to explore unknown places inside and out. If we could all just " Do Me " a little bit better the whole world would smile don't cha think?

So, here are a few of the things I hope to do that will satisfy some of the deep yearnings in my soul and inspire those around me to do the same. Maybe I should break it down in compartments:

FAMILY: Part of doing me better is taking care of my family...Being a wife to my handsome Yankee is the greatest joy for me every year. It helps to have a sweet husband. That makes it easy. If you don't, well that's another story and that's not easy at all. I guess we've been luck. Going on 27 years together. Not always easy, but like all married folks, we've learned how to navigate through rought waters and rely each others strengths. We've got two  budding song writers in the house that are anxious get out there and show the world what they've got. I see a lot of driving in my future getting them to and from open mike night's and other performances. They are much braver than their dear mom... I would NEVER sing in front of a crowd!!! Mainly because I can't sing a lick!

HEALTH AND FITNESS:  Our 16 year old daughter informed me that we will be getting a gym membership and eating healthier this year. Her determination is just what this happy, comfy, chubby, homebody ( but still plenty sassy ) mommy, blogger, needs to get me moving this winter! Hey, it was her idea to get chickens and that went well!

CREATIVITY: Santa gave my hubby and I a brand new wide-format photo printer for Christmas! Isn't that exciting? I'm currently setting up Etsy Shops for my husbands photography and mine too! I'll keep you posted for the launch!

What would life be without BIG DREAMS? You know, the kind of dreams that stretch you beyond your limits. The kind that make you scratch your head and wonder. How would I ever be able to do that?

DANDELION HOUSE: Blogging has certainly helped me re-define my career path. Nothing gets to the heart of ones creativity than writing about what you know and love on a regular basis. And, to have friends  ( like you ) that follow along with you makes it so much more fun and rewarding. It can get a girl thinking, hey, maybe I'm on to something here! This year I will be working on branding Dandelion House. I dream of being able to offer products such as calenders, journals, cards, fabrics, dishes, ORGANIC LINENS and home goods inspired by VINTAGE WARES and life here on our little suburban homestead. Wish me luck!!! I also want to thank my sponsors who help to keep this blog going! Keep your eyes on Farmmade in 2014! The online market place for homemade farm goods! 

GARDEN: MORE FLOWERS, MORE FRUITS AND VEGGIES, ANOTHER GARDEN TOUR.
NUFF SAID?

 VINTAGE SHOPS: I opened Burlap and Bling ( my brick and mortar vintage shop ) and My Vintage Homestead on Etsy in 2013 and oh what fun diving into antiquing, thrifting, and creating fun and funky items for my shops has been! I will continue this adventure in the coming year. It really fills the need I have to always be refurbishing or re- imagining things I pick up on my picking travels. I went to the Vintage Bazarr in September and was so inspired by the cleverness of each booth I visited! I love being a part of the vintage movement that is swelling up across the world right now!

WRITING: This is the year I will write a book! I'm researching self-publishing avenue's for a Farmgirls' ( and boys ) Can Cook Book. i envision a cook book filled with various recipes from YOUR homestead kitchens...I know we have our pinterest board, but wouldn't it be neat to have a HARD COPY cook book with YOURE beautiful photos and delicious recipes? Besides, someone has to let young homemakers in on the secret that it isn't all that difficult or expensive to cook from scratch with wholesome ( and local ) ingredients! I figure it might as well be us!  I'll be asking for submissions from you soon! STAY TUNED!!! 

 
 MARYJANESFARM: You would have to drag me away from my writing post at MaryJanesFarm with a back hoe to get me to quit the farm! Writing my twice monthly blogs and the Girl Genius Feature in her magazine is one of the greatest blessings ( besides meeting all of you ) that blogging has brought to my life. We farmgirl bloggers get new blog headers this year! This one's mine... So MaryJanesFarm...

 I love my writing alias MJF Beach Farmgirl and GIRL GENIUS. They are forever a part of my farmgirl heart.  MaryJanes is my middle- age mentor and such and inspiration for natural healthy living and following your own farmgirl heart road right to dreams come true! Just look at her...She's 60 and just the cutest thing!!! She's more than a Savvy business woman too!

 Oh, I forgot one more thing:

FUN:  Not that all the other stuff isn't FUN, but I'm going on a trail ride this year if I have to steal a horse to do it!!! Will you come visit me in jail? I hope they have WI-fi!!!

 Geez, I didn't intend to ramble on at a Sunday's drive pace here, but now that I've gabbed and gushed my hopes and dreams for the coming year I hope you'll leave me a note and tell me what your plans are to " do you " in 2014!

About Me, About You~ Write your own ABOUT page!

After three years of blogging it recently occurred to me that I ought to create an "ABOUT" page for my blog. And now that I have I know why I have avoided it for so long!
 It's not that easy to write a page about yourself is it?  You don't want to appear too braggy, too silly,  too stuffy, or too flaky. And if you're blog is about many things, how do you fit it all in without sounding, scattered, unfocused, and disorganized?

Like all good writing being concise is key. So I took that to heart when I created my own About page.
Here are the simple guidelines I followed.

PERSONAL PHOTO: Find a photo you love of yourself. One you'll feel good about putting out there for the world to see! My husband took this one of me last fall at a local farm. I felt might happy leanin' on that old tractor tire and flashing my pearly whites at the camera for him! Write a simple paragraph stating what your blog is about and include links to all pages in your blog that support  your key topics and your blogging passions.

DEDICATE YOUR BLOG: As I was in the process of writing my about page it occurred to me that I would not be ME if it weren't for my sweet hubby and the family we have made together.

ARE YOU PUBLISHED? It's okay to fluff your feathers here a little. Provide information and links to the places where you are published.

BLOG HOPS AND LINKY PARTIES: List any special features and hops and parties you host or participate in on a weekly basis and invite folks to join in!

SPONSORS: Write a brief paragraph about who you would like to attract as sponsors for your blog and prices.

THANK YOU:  Thank your readers for visiting your blog. Without our blogging friends, blogging wouldn't be half the fun!

  I don't have all the answers, but the best advice I can give you is to just be yourself!  I'm  pretty happy with my little ol' ABOUT page but I'd love for you to give it a once over and tell me if I left out anything important!

Whew, I'm glad that's over! Enough about me!

Write On, Mama's Anthology

Why do you write? When I first started blogging I didn't fancy myself a writer but as time goes on I think more like a writer every day. Words, phrases and topics from the heart jump out at me from everywhere begging to be expressed in a piece of writing. As a budding writer I believe I could really benefit from a local writers group. We all need encouragement and feed back as we tap, tap, tap, our way towards the finish line to that first published article, book, blog post, children's book, novel, or Anthology of our dreams!

My cousin, Teri is part of just such a writers group called the Write On, Mama's in Northern California. Before becoming a stay at home mom she worked in Marketing for Ghirradelli Square in San Francisco. It wasn't long before she met and married her dream man and moved to the suburbs of beautiful Napa Valley, California. After many losses, some deep soul searching, and a few miracles they finally became parents. These days she's a busy mother of three ( one boy and twin girls all under the age of 6 ). In between drop- offs and pick- ups to preschool, play dates and bedtime she squeezes in time to write.
Teri, along with the other members of the group have co-written an Anthology and are in the process of raising funds to help with publishing, editing and gaining their 501 ( c ) 3 status in the future. Teri shares her story of how motherhood finally came to them in hopes of inspiring other moms ( and dads ) who pray and wait for babies of their own.

  I'm so inspired by their project and the idea of forming a writing group of my own I just had to share this with you!

 Write on, Mamas! kicked off a fundraising campaign on October 9th to help us raise the resources to seek outside editing guidance and to publish and market this book.  We have an ambitious, but attainable goal to raise $15,000 by or before November 13th! Please consider supporting us and Write on, Mamas! in this effort by visiting our campaign page at www.indiegogo.com/write-on-mamas.  Once there, you can view an awesome video about our project as well as more information about what a donation from you can do to help us out. You can also view the results of our funding campaign in real time on the web page. It doesn't matter how much you donate, every single donation counts.  Consider giving at whatever level is meaningful to you and you will be sustaining a vital and vibrant part of our literary community, not to mention making us one happy group of moms! I hope I can count on your support.  As a token of our gratitude, you will receive special thank you gifts that are also detailed on our Indiegogo web page in the "Perks." 

Thank you for checking out our campaign and making a donation if you are interested!  
Teri Stevens ~ Marketing

 Their fundraiser ends Wednesday November 13th!



Who knows? Maybe you'll put the pen to paper and start a writing group of your own too!

NEW Blog Banner !

Spring Pickets

 Now I've gone and done it. I just couldn't help myself! It was last spring around this time that Karen Valentine created my beautiful blog design for me but I was itchin'  for something different and I wanted to make it myself! Don't get me wrong, I love my "old " banner but, sometimes a girl needs a change! I used Picasa ( an online photo storage and editing website ) for creating the collage and adding the frames and text. It was pretty simple and fun!

Did you know if you are a member of the MaryJane's Farmgirl sisterhood you can earn three merit badges ( beginner, intermediate and expert ) for blogging? One of the requirements at the beginner level is to read Blogging for Bliss by Tara Frey. I just finished it and I felt so inspired all over again about the creative joys of  blogging!

How often do you change your blog banner? Once a month, a quarter, with the seasons, annually or never?