Keeper of the Home » A bit of this, a bit of that

Oh-So-Many Giveaway Winners (Are You One of Them?) and That Lovely Place Called Pinterest

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:00:18 +0000

I am a little behind on giveaway winner announcements, so here we go with the winners from 4 (yes, four) giveaways...

The winner of the $100 at TriLight Health to spend on high-quality liquid herbal supplements and remedies is:

The winner of the GNOWFGLINS Lacto-Fermentation eCourse is:

The winners of the 3-pack of real food ebooks (Real Food Basics, Healthy Pregnancy Super Foods, and Against the Grain grain-free reipces) are:

crazydaisies123@

skynwind@

The winners of the Treat Yourself: Real Food Desserts ebooks are:

Danielle (mrs.petite.dani@)

Darcy (memoriesmama@)

Trezlen (trezlen@)

Emily (ekreisig@)

Mary (readinfool@)

If you've won and haven't heard from anyone yet, you likely will in the next day or two, but please feel free to contact me as well. Thanks and congratulations, everyone!

Image source

Are You On Pinterest?

Wonder of wonders, now I am, too.

(Are you surprised? I am!)

Although I think I need to proceed with caution and set strict time limits, I can see how this is an amazing tool for sharing inspiration, recipes, ideas for making our homes havens, natural living tutorials and more. I'm slowing building up my boards with so many helpful and creative ideas, and I'd love to share them with the rest of you!

To make it easier to pin a post on Keeper of the Home, we've also added a "Pin It" button at the bottom of each post (look for a new set of stylish social media buttons sometime in the next week). The more that we can share ideas for simple, natural and healthier living, the better!

Follow me on Pinterest (and join the addiction fun).

Top image by tanzia45

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Updated! Spring Book Sale: Real Food and Healthy Homemaking eBooks 50% Off!

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Tue, 24 May 2011 10:00:48 +0000

Celebrating the fact that it's spring, the sun is beginning to shine (and green things beginning to grow), and most of all that in 5 short days I will board a plane that will take me and my hubby to the Philippines for the adventure of a lifetime...

... how about a smokin' book sale?

Update: The sale has been extended to June 12th (Sunday) at midnight!

For the next two weeks, May 24th (that's today) to June 7th, here's what I'm offering:

Real Food on a Real Budget: How to Eat Healthy for Less

A primer for families who want to learn how to save an average of 20-30% on their food budget, while at the same time serving better quality and more nutritionally dense foods.
Based on 6 years of hands on experience and hundreds of hours of research, Real Food on a Real Budget will teach you how to drastically lower your food budget OR significantly increase the quality of the foods that you buy (for the same amount of money).
Think you can't afford to eat nourishing foods? Think again!

eBook copy is 50% off! Regular $18.97, now only $9.49.

Paperback copy is 25% off! Regular $21.99, now only $16.48 (plus shipping).

Click here to buy your copy (or to learn more about the book).

Healthy Homemaking: One Step at a Time

A compilation of practical, relevant and varied "baby steps", designed to take you on a one-year journey to healthier homemaking. Topics include nutrition, cooking techniques for whole foods, going greener and natural/non-toxic living.
One of the major premises behind the way that I've written it is to keep it from being overwhelming. The intent is to focus instead on the little victories in each positive step we take forward, one step at a time.

eBook copy is 50% off! Regular $12.95, now $6.48.

Paperback copy is 25% off! Regular $18.95, now $14.21 (plus shipping).

Click here to buy your copy (or to learn more about the book).

My Trip to the Philippines

My to-do list is almost completed, our bags are ready to be packed, our children will hopefully be less chicken-poxy when we take them to Grandma's (sorry about that, Grandma!)... things are almost a go.

I am now signing off until sometime this weekend, while I love on my kids like there's no tomorrow and finish getting ready to leave. There will still be fabulous content from my regular writers (including a spring/summer soup recipe and more frugality talk) for the rest of the week.

From that point, I will hopefully post briefly during our travels this weekend, as we head to LA, then Tokyo, then our final destination, Manila. If I don't get a chance, guaranteed my first post (as well as posts from my other awesome teammates) will be up by Monday, May 30th.

Wish I could just pack you all up in my suitcase and bring you with me, but the hotel room might get a little cramped (and you know, seeing how my husband is coming with me, I'm not too sure he'd approve). Instead, I'll just do my best to share with you what I'm seeing. It will probably not be polished or eloquent or possibly even coherent, but it will be real and honest and as vulnerable as I can handle.

We would so appreciate your prayers as we head off and while we're over there-- thanks, everyone!

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The Simplify Family Life Collection: $450 Worth of Ebooks for Only $47!

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 19:00:22 +0000

This week I'm pleased to be a part of a fantastic group of bloggers and authors, including my books in the Simplify Family Life collection ebook sale. Corey from Simple Marriage and Mandi from Life...Your Way have brought together some of the top authors in the family life space with 30 ebooks covering a variety of topics related to family life (food and health, marriage, finances, simple living and more).

When purchased separately, these ebooks are worth $450, but for four days only, you can purchase the entire collection for just $47! A portion of each sale will also be donated to The Mentoring Project, which seeks to rewrite the story of the fatherless generation.

This collection is only available from 2 p.m. on March 21st to 2 p.m. on March 24th. There will be no late sales offered.

Click here to purchase your collection today!

There are some amazing books included in this package, including a few that I already own and love (Healthy Snacks to Go, Tell Your Time, Herbal Nurturing, Family Camping Handbook) and many others that I am so excited about and have been thoroughly enjoying this past week (15 Minute Marriage Makeover, The Real Food Cleansing Guide, 5 Ingredients, 10 Minutes, A Simple Marriage, and Smalltopia, among others).

If you had been considering purchasing either one or both of my ebooks, Healthy Homemaking and Real Food on a Real Budget, which total $31.92 when bought together, it may be well worth it to consider spending the extra $16 to get this entire package of ebooks!

When you purchase the Simplify Family Life collection, you get instant access to each of the 30 ebooks listed below:

Work at Home

Smalltopia by Tammy Strobel @ Rowdy Kittens ($27)

Holidays

Christmas Your Way + Planning Printables from Mandi Ehman @Life...Your Way ($4)

Thanksgiving Your Way + Planning Printables from Mandi Ehman @Life...Your Way ($3)

Click here to purchase your collection today!

The sale ends at 2 p.m. ET on March 24th, and there will be no late sales offered, so don't wait.

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Holiday Blessings From Our Family to Yours!

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Abbie at just over 6 years old has a Christmas wish this year and she's been singing it to anyone who will listen,

"All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth, my 5 front teeth, my 12 front teeth!"

Her lovely toothless smile is now missing 5 teeth, with one more wiggly one, which could leave the poor girl with a gap of 4 missing teeth in a row! I keep telling her to stop losing teeth or she's going to have to subsist on yogurt and applesauce!

Caden, our busy 3 1/2 year old, is almost impossible to get a decent picture of but this is a recent one of him and Johanna playing together in a suitcase that happened to be in the living room. They had a blast, "hiding" from us all!

This picture of Johanna in her Christmas dress shows her doing what she loves to do best... climb. She's 16 months old now and that girl can get away from me (and get up to a high, dangerous place) faster than I can blink. Every parent has to have at least one child that gives them regular heart attacks, right?

Lucky for her she's just so darn cute the rest of the time that we can overlook her heart-stopping antics!

No pictures of my husband or I to share, but he is doing incredibly well with his music school, Resound School of Music. The school has grown to over 120 students in one year and continues to grow. I'm so proud of all of his hard work, and grateful that God is blessing the work of his hands.

The Lord has richly provided for us this past year. It has been a difficult and draining year in many ways, and yet He continues to show Himself faithful to us over and over and over again. His mercies are new every day. We are so grateful for his care for our young family, and we are very much looking forward to spending some time together as a family this Christmas, celebrating all that Christ has done for us and resting as we look forward to what the New Year holds!

The Team Here at Keeper of the Home

It has been an eventful and very full year at Keeper of the Home as well!

Two new staff members have joined our team:

Abby W:: My faithful administrative assistant. She may answer one of your emails, she helps to maintain things like the Recipe page, she sends out the books you buy, and so many other behind-the-scenes tasks. I'm thankful to have her on board!

Kate Tietje :: Our newest addition, who came on board in October to work as our Advertising and Giveaway Manager. She also runs her own fantastic blog at Modern Alternative Mama and serves as a contributing writer here at KOTH.

We have also added 10 incredible writers who regularly contribute articles along with myself:

Shannon @ Nourishing Days

Beth @ Stewardship not Convenience

Sharon @ The Good Woman and Franziska's Pantry

Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama

Cara @ Health, Home, and Happiness

Emily @ Live Renewed

Meg @ Cracking an Egg With One Hand

Sherrie @ The Proverbial Woman

Stacy @ Delighting in the Days

Stacey @ A GOOD and SIMPLE Life

I am so delighted with the wide range of perspectives, knowledge and experience that we are able to offer with this array of different women and I hope that you have enjoyed the more varied content that the blog has seen over the past several months!

Thanks to Our Sponsors

One of the ways that Keeper of the Home continues to run day after day, putting out hopefully helpful and encouraging content for free, is through the sponsorship of the businesses that advertise both on the sidebar and in sponsored posts and giveaways.

Whenever you choose to visit our sponsor's site or make a purchase through them, you help to keep this site going, so thank you!

Thanks to this year's fabulous sponsors:

Enjoying the Holidays

This will be my last post from now until sometime in the first week of January, although there will still be posts from other writers in the meantime. My husband and I will both be taking a full week off from our businesses (much-needed!) to enjoy a blissful week relaxing, celebrating and having fun with family and friends.

Praying that you have a blessed celebration of the birth of our Lord this Christmas! Praise God for his magnificent gift of Jesus!

With love,

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10 Posts I Didn’t Write in 2010

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:00:44 +0000

Tonight I've been sipping on tea and taking a leisurely stroll through my gorgeous new heirloom seed catalogue... hard to believe that this year is already drawing to a close and that I am beginning to think forward to next spring and summer.

It is also stunning to me that another year has flown by here at Keeper of the Home and I am now onto my 4th Christmas of blogging.

As you have read posts day in and day out over these past several years, surely at times you must wonder, "What does she not do?". Surely there is an end to the things that she is studying and learning, trying out in her home, and eager to share with us.

Yes, indeedy. Blogging offers a highly skewed perspective, as you continually see what I am doing, but you might not necessarily get a glimpse into the many things that I am not doing.

Just for fun, I thought I would go out in style this year by writing up a post full of the posts that I didn't write, couldn't have written, am certainly not qualified to write, or you truly would not have wanted to read coming from me!

In no particular order, here are 10 posts that I didn't write in 2010:

1. Keeping Up With Mt. Neverest: How to Stay On Top of Your Laundry Pile

They say a picture is worth a 1000 words. This picture is actually from my laundry room this very weekend. I have nothing to say in my defense. Yes, I'm tired this week and I was out of town and I'm a bit sick... but seriously, it looks like this rather frequently, so what's my excuse all those other weeks?

2. How to Move Without Losing Your Mind (and Have Your House Unpacked in Less Than 6 Months)

We moved into our current house at the very end of June. As we approach the 6 month mark, I am sorry to say that I still have cupboards and closets in need of organization, and we have recently dubbed our extra office room as the "weird/messy room". It is the place where things that lack a home find one. Then we close the door and walk away.

3. Three Simple Steps for Getting Your Garbage to the Curb in Time

I'm pretty sure we get hung up on step #1. Remember that garbage day is Friday. The same day that it has been since we moved to this area 3 1/2 years ago. Once of these days, we'll get it figured out.

Image by Balancing Bedlam and Beauty

4. Green and Frugal Ideas for Decorating Your Home Beautifully

Ha. I may be able to sprout and grind my own flour then bake bread with it, and grow enough organic garlic in my garden to eat for the next year and use for medicinal purposes... but decorating? Not my forte. I love watching how someone like my friend Jen wander around a thrift store and pick up all sorts of inexpensive lovelies that she can re-purpose to add charm and beauty to her home.

Sadly, not a skill that I possess. I've tried and all I see are piles of junk. Every so often I get inspired and come up with an idea for using some such item and inevitably it makes its way back into our garage sale boxes by the following year.

5. How to Grow a Great Garden in the Shade and Rain

I really miss my last garden. A large rectangle in a wide open, sunny spot. I gave it my best shot at this new house as we moved in this summer, but quickly realized just how much shade I was working with. Add in a wussy summer with not nearly enough heat and too much rain, and it was a bit sad.

There's no one good place for a central garden bed, and I was just not satisfied with really anything that I grew last year. This year I'm getting creative, building garden boxes from scratch to put over a sunny, gravelly area, using the side of the house, containers on the porch, etc. I'm determined that when there's a will, there's a way!

6. Sneaky Tricks for Getting Your Husband and Children to Eat Clay (but I'm working on it for 2011)

I'm sure you've read other bloggers talking about ways to sneak organ meats like liver into food without anyone noticing. My latest adventures have been in adding clay to our diet. Yes, you read that right. I'm now feeding my family dirt.

We're beginning to use Azomite clay to address some mineral deficiencies and hopefully help in the fight against tooth decay, and now we've just added in Bentonite clay for a gentle way to detoxify and draw heavy metals and other dangerous toxins out of my husband and two youngest kids (but hey, we'll all join in the fun). So far chocolate peanut butter banana smoothies seem to hide clay the best, but the jury is still out.

7. Handmade Christmas Gifts to Give to Anyone on Your List

Did anyone notice that I shared gifts that could be purchased, instead of gifts that could be made? There's no hint of homemade in our holiday celebrations this year. Mama is tired and there just wasn't the time to do it. For everyone else who looked at homemade gift ideas this year and thought "Hmmm, what a nice idea... maybe next year", you're not alone.

8. Meal Planning: Do As I Say, Not As I Do

If you've been reading here for long, you probably know that I'm a huge advocate for meal planning. For the past several months, however, I've been practicing the "wing it" method of meal planning. Oh, you're not familiar with that method? It's the one where each morning (or late afternoon, even) you suddenly panic and think "What am I going to make for breakfast/lunch/supper today?".

Granted, I have been doing careful planning long enough that I have a lot of simple meals tucked away in my brain, and I know the regular types of things to buy so that I have what I need to put together meals. I have been doing somewhat of a less-organized version of this type of planning, along with a whole lot of this type of cooking.

Image by familymwr

9. Conserve Water and Save the Earth by Bathing Your Kids Less

This is one is a bit tongue in cheek. :) I do think that there's some truth to us North Americans not needing to bathe nearly as often as we do, and that we could all certainly conserve water by lightening up on our washing habits.

That's not really why I've been bathing my kids less, though. I was spending some time with an older, wiser friend of mine recently and I confessed to her that one of the things that I drop when I simply get overwhelmed with life is baths for the kids. I figure they're fed, they're in clean clothes, we have washcloths for hands, face and bottoms. Surely they can go a week without a bath, yes? (Tell me I'm not the only mom who does this!)

10. How to Be Superwoman, Do it All and Never Get Tired

If there would be one statement about this past year that is absolutely NOT true, this one might be it. In truth, I did try to be superwoman and do it all, and guess what happened? I got tired. Really tired. And I couldn't do it.

I'll actually be sharing my own story coming up this January, as we delve into some really important topics for women like trying to do too much, adrenal fatigue, depression, and the bigger picture of what good health really looks like!

For all the things that I didn't write this past year, I have absolutely loved having the privilege of writing so many other things. I continue to enjoy running this blog and wonder at the kindness of God to allow me to do something I love so much from within my home, fellowshipping with the likes of women like you.

So now that I've told you what I didn't write in 2010, I would love to hear what topics you would like to read about in 2011!

Top image by d2k6

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Our Family– June Update

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:00:48 +0000

*I had alluded to one more giveaway today, but that has now been postponed until next Monday, so look for it then!*

It's been a long time since I gave you an update on our family and all that is happening around our home!

First of all, we're in the midst of moving. We are surrounded by boxes and it feels like the more we pack, the more we realize how much more we need to pack! Our oven is also broken, so between that and having half of my kitchen packed up, I feel a bit like I'm doing camping-style cooking. It's actually sort of fun (yes, I'm one of those people who truly likes camping cooking!).

Our move date is June 27th, which is less than a week away! We are so excited to get settled into our new place. It's near where we currently live, but the house is larger, the backyard is better fenced for the kids, and my husband will be able to set up a music studio (more on that in a moment).

My pitiful garden a couple weeks ago!

The one difficulty with moving this summer is my garden. I began preparing and planting up our garden here shortly before we made the decision to move. I planted it up quite heavily, so I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get back and harvest it even after we move.

At the same time, I began the garden at our new home, so now I have TWO gardens to care for! The new garden is not in a great location, and it is not as large. I will post later in the summer about my garden and how I'm trying to adapt and work with what I have the best I can!

My garden is definitely suffering this year. Partly because we've been having lousy wet and cool weather so far this summer, and partly because I've been so busy that the extra time required to care for two gardens has just been a real struggle. I will do my best to redeem the rest of the summer, and I'll make an effort to share more with you how my garden is growing!

Johanna at the zoo in May

Speaking of growing, our kids are growing up so quickly! Sweet little Johanna is a definite go-getter and even though she just turned 10 months, she's already walking with furniture and starting to stand on her own. She's a busy girl and she just motors around the house, following her beloved siblings! She has recently learned to clap her hands, and use sign language to ask for more milkies. She's such a doll. Can I just tell you that the love you have for your children only grows and expands with each new baby?

Caden opening his Thomas the Train sheets

Caden had his 3rd birthday recently. It was a very Thomas birthday, as he has recently decided that he is in love with trains! He is such a darling boy, and his health has definitely improved a lot since we did the GAPS diet this spring!

Abbie holding the model of the body she made this year!

Abbie at 5 1/2 has just "finished" her first year of kindergarten (although we still do some homeschooling in the summer time), and we're preparing now for getting a bit more serious for next fall. We'll start studying History (Story of the World), Geography (Leagues & Legends), studying Biblical character qualities, developing her reading and writing skills further (First Language Lessons, A Reasons for Handwriting, Explode the Code, Rod & Staff Readers), continuing with piano lessons, etc.

It's wonderful to see her truly reading simple books now, and doing a lot of independent writing and spelling and trying to sound words out on her own. She is so creative and constantly coming up with elaborate pretend play, writing letters and cards for people, and has become frightening adept at maneuvering all over the swing set out back!

We've also had some special visitors... Kimi of The Nourishing Gourmet and her precious family came to visit us! We had such a wonderful time getting to know them in person (though Kimi and I have been blogging friends for over 2 years!). If you haven't yet, be sure to check out her amazing ecourse that will teach you to cook delicious, nourishing food on a budget!

In business news, I've started my new blog, Saving Naturally! Between finishing up and self-publishing my book, Real Food on a Real Budget this spring, and now the new site, work has been very, very busy for me.

I've actually ended up taking on far more blog work that I intended to back in the winter, when I was considering taking a step back. That is certainly still my heart's desire, but my husband and I have made the difficult decision that this is a season where my business is important to our overall vision as a family. We don't "need" for me to work, but it helps us to meet some of the goals that we have set and we feel that this is the right thing for us, right now.

Though this has been one of the most personally challenging seasons I have ever walked through, the Lord has been so kind and gracious to me through it. He has given me the opportunity to serve my husband and our family as I run a business that I love (writing for women that I love!). I could stop at any time if I truly wanted to, but difficult or not, it is my joy to work as a partner with my husband in this way!

As for his business, it is going well! He has just signed an important 1 year contract that we feel is a very big step for his music school, Resound School of Music. He also continues to oversee other music teachers who teach in student's homes, as well as doing a lot of teaching himself. He has discovered just how passionate he is about teaching music (not just running the business), and so we have been investing in his ability to do more and more teaching. In fact, our upcoming move will allow him to create a music studio where he will teach from our home, which is so exciting!

And lest you think I do this all by myself (run two blogs, publish and market a book, while caring for 3 young children and a home!), my husband has joined forces with me significantly! He helps me with marketing, with our advertisers, with emails, with technical details and so much more. I now have a wonderful mother's helper who comes one morning a week so that my children can be well-cared for while I get in some concentrated writing time.

I also now have an administrative assistant, Abby, who helps me with emails, book sales and marketing, deal posts at Saving Naturally and many other things. What would I do without her? She may answer one of your emails one day... be sure to say hi!

Lastly, I will be taking a short hiatus starting tomorrow. We have our move coming up in less than a week. A week after we move, I am headed to the Savvy Blogging Summit in Beckinridge, Colorado! I am so excited to spend some time learning how to be a more effective blogger, and to get together again with some of the fantastic ladies I met at Blissdom and to connect with bloggers I have never met as well!

For the next 3 weeks or so, I have put together an incredible schedule of guest posters, in addition to my regular contributing writers who will be writing a little bit more often. I'm pretty sure you won't miss me at all. :)

I'd love to hear how you are all doing! What has been going on in your homes and families lately?

Image by james.thompson

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Busy, Busy, Busy Around Here- What’s Going On at Keeper of the Home

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 03:50:27 +0000

I wanted to take a moment to let you know about some of the important things that are happening around here right now:

1) If you haven't done it already, would you please un-subscribe and re-subscribe to my RSS feed? The old one is currently being redirected, which is why you are still getting it, but the redirection service will end very shortly. Once that happens, unless you have subscribed to the new feed, you will stop getting my posts.

For those who receive my emails, you don't need to do anything. Your emails have already been switched over to the new feed (lucky you!).

2) My new book is coming! It's so close I can practically taste it. The official launch is slated for Monday, May 3 (two weeks from today).

The book is titled "Real Food on a Real Budget- How to Eat Healthy for Less" and I absolutely cannot wait to share it with you all!

3) The price on my first ebook, Healthy Homemaking: One Step at a Time will be going up to $12.95 shortly. Until May 3rd, you can still grab it for $8.95!

4) Have I mentioned that my site is being redesigned? The new look should be up within the next 1-2 weeks as well!

So much going on around here lately... busy, busy, busy. But good.

What have you been busy with lately?

Image by evelynishere

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1 Minute Survey

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:27:28 +0000

Ladies, I have a quick favor to ask of you...

This is something I should have done ages ago. For me to be able to continue serving the needs of my readers, it would be so helpful for me to know some more exact demographics, rather than just guessing (because guessing is kind of fun, but highly inaccurate!).

Literally, this survey will take 1 minute to complete. It's 100% anonymous (I have no idea who is filling it out). There's no Excalibur Dehydrator giveaway at the end of this survey (but wouldn't it be nice? :)), only my gratitude and a deepened knowledge of who you are that helps me be a better blogger. So thank you!

Take the survey now.

Edit: Wow, thank you so much for that tremendous response! That was incredibly helpful for me! (And yes, you can still take the survey- I just thought I'd comment on the results so far).

Someone asked to know the results. Here they are in a nutshell:

1) 98% of my readers are women (are you surprised? :))

2) 94% are married

3) Most of you are between the ages of 20-45

4) 65% of my readers have education at a Bachelor's degree or beyond, and most of the others have at least some college or certification of some sort.

5) Family incomes are spread all over the board, but over half of the families represented here make $55,000 or higher.

6) A surprising (to me) 20% of my readers don't yet have a child. Most have between 1-3 children, and about 12% have between 4-6 children or more.

7) 60% of my readers are full-time homemakers with no employment. The other 40% is split pretty evenly between those who work outside the home (full and part time) and those who work from home.

8 ) Your 5 favorite topics here at Keeper of the Home are (in this order):

Cooking and food preparation
Nutrition
Recipes
Frugality/Money Management
Natural, sustainable living

9) You're all amazing! (But I already knew that!) :)

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The Carnival I Almost Missed and Other Important News

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:01:50 +0000

Well, I may be able to pull off a mean baking day but I'm still forgetful at heart. :)

In the midst of preparing for baking day and then spending all day yesterday actually doing it, guess who completely forgot that it was supposed to be the Organic Gardening Carnival today? Oh wait, that would be me!

Because I always prefer to give everyone a heads up about an upcoming carnival the day before it actually happens (just to give you time to prepare your own post if you're participating), I decided late last night not to run the carnival today. Instead, I took this morning to sleep in (much needed!) and enjoy a sweet and leisurely family time over breakfast (fancy scrambled eggs, sprouted grain toast and OJ- yummy!).

So consider this your one day reminder that the carnival is coming up! Tomorrow, to be exact! In fact, I'll likely have it up by later tonight, for any early birds who want to get their posts up first.

Can't remember what the Organic Gardening Carnival is all about? See this post.

In other news...

Tomorrow will be a busy day for me, because not only am I running the carnival but I will be participating in the first every Real Food Twitter Party! Thursday night from 9-11 pm EST (that's 6-8 pm for us Westcoasters) you will find myself, as well as many other fabulous nourishing bloggers (Cheeseslave, Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Naturally Knocked Up, Kitchen Stewardship, etc.) discussing (what else?) REAL FOOD! We'll be discussing how we all got started and why we eat the way we do. We'll definitely be taking questions and doing our best to answer them! If you're just curious about eating more traditional, nourishing foods or starting out and would like to hear more about how others do it, then definitely join us! There will even be a chance for someone to win a copy of Nourishing Traditions!

If you don't already, you can follow me on Twitter (@keeperhome). To join in the party, look for the hashtag #realfood, so that you can keep track of the conversation that's going on. See you there!

Wanna know who won some of the giveaways?

Awesome Stainless Steel Food Storage goes to: Sarah M (@ssmast)

Gorgeous Silver Jewelry goes to: MelodyJ (melodyj@)

Please email me at stephanie (at) keeperofthehome (dot) org, and if I don't hear from you I will be in touch.

Remember that you only have 2 more days to get your entry in for the incredible dehydrator giveaway, and that means my book sale only lasts 2 more days as well!

I hope that this little post is a good reminder that yet again, I do not have it all together. I get caught up in what I'm doing (and just the general chaos of life) and forget all about other important things. I get too busy and too tired. I sleep in. I'm a real mom, just like all of you! :)

So just to make me feel better, why don't you all share with me some of your "finer" moments where you completely forgot about something important!

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Introducing the Forum!

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:00:51 +0000

Oh, this is such an exciting week for me! All of these things that I have been dreaming up and planning for so long are finally taking place!

For quite some time, I've wanted to launch a forum here at Keeper of the Home. A place where all of those wonderful questions that get asked in the comments could be answered in a more purposeful way. A place where women could connect with other like-minded women. A place where knowledge and tips can be shared, on any given topic, and not just by me but by all of the other incredible and resourceful women who read this blog. A place where the focus is on issues pertaining to natural living- but you get to ask the questions and decided which topics are most important!

For all of these reasons and many others, I decided to pursue running a forum on this site. Now, I've never run a forum before (nothing like trying out something that you're clueless about! :)). However, I've participated in some and found them to be such incredibly helpful resources. It is a powerful thing to have a question on a very specific topic and be able to post it and begin to receive answers and thoughts from other moms and homemakers, within the day or even hours! It's fantastic to be able to answer someone else's question and know that you've helped them out or been able to encourage them in their efforts. Community is a very good thing.

Knowing the wealth of wise women that frequent this site, I can only anticipate this forum growing to be a valuable place to both share and ask about what's on your mind and going on in your life. Topics can range from natural diaper rash solutions to your favorite heirloom seeds, or from a recipe that uses stewing beef and broccoli to the best non-toxic method you've found for removing grass stains on kids clothes. And absolutely anything in between. The sky is literally the limit.

Image by PhotoVandal

Not sure how to get started?

**This is a screen shot of part of the forum, just to give you an idea of what it looks like**

First, click on the Forum tab in the navigational bar at the top of my blog.

Second, you'll need to register as a Forum member. This is a very quick and painless process.

Third, at the top of the board categories you'll see one called "Welcome" and within that is a board called "Start Here!!!". Take a quick read through this just to get more of a feel for how to use the boards and some basic forum etiquette.

Fourth, take a look through the different boards. See what interests you and then jump in! We'll need some brave souls to start out by initiating some new threads and topics. I've established all of the main categories (such as Natural Living), as well as boards under those (eg. Cloth Diapering, Mama Cloth, and Household Cleaning). From there, we need to start posting new topics and get things going!

You'll see that I've started off a few. You can find them under Cloth Diapering, Recipes, General gardening topics and Sources for real food. But please, don't be shy in creating your own topics!

Then get ready to have some fun!

I can't wait to see some conversations get started, and to be able to connect with many of you more through the forum!

As well, when I feel that it's appropriate I will occasionally start a new forum topic as a spinoff of a blog post. I'll do this when I feel that it's a particularly important topic or when there's lots of conversation happening in the comments and I think that it could be furthered in the forum.

Now go check out the forum! I'll see you there! :)

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Keeper of the Home » A bit of this, a bit of that

Oh-So-Many Giveaway Winners (Are You One of Them?) and That Lovely Place Called Pinterest

Image source

Are You On Pinterest?

Top image by tanzia45

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My Trip to the Philippines

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The Simplify Family Life Collection: $450 Worth of Ebooks for Only $47!

When you purchase the Simplify Family Life collection, you get instant access to each of the 30 ebooks listed below:

Family Minimalism

Food & Cooking

Green Living

Intimacy & Marriage

Money

Organizing

Parenting

Personal Development

Travel

Work at Home

Holidays

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Holiday Blessings From Our Family to Yours!

The Team Here at Keeper of the Home

Thanks to Our Sponsors

Enjoying the Holidays

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10 Posts I Didn’t Write in 2010

In no particular order, here are 10 posts that I didn't write in 2010:

1. Keeping Up With Mt. Neverest: How to Stay On Top of Your Laundry Pile

2. How to Move Without Losing Your Mind (and Have Your House Unpacked in Less Than 6 Months)

3. Three Simple Steps for Getting Your Garbage to the Curb in Time

Image by Balancing Bedlam and Beauty

4. Green and Frugal Ideas for Decorating Your Home Beautifully

5. How to Grow a Great Garden in the Shade and Rain

6. Sneaky Tricks for Getting Your Husband and Children to Eat Clay (but I'm working on it for 2011)

7. Handmade Christmas Gifts to Give to Anyone on Your List

8. Meal Planning: Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Image by familymwr

9. Conserve Water and Save the Earth by Bathing Your Kids Less

10. How to Be Superwoman, Do it All and Never Get Tired

So now that I've told you what I didn't write in 2010, I would love to hear what topics you would like to read about in 2011!

Top image by d2k6

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Our Family– June Update

I'd love to hear how you are all doing! What has been going on in your homes and families lately?

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Busy, Busy, Busy Around Here- What’s Going On at Keeper of the Home

What have you been busy with lately?

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1 Minute Survey

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The Carnival I Almost Missed and Other Important News

In other news...

Wanna know who won some of the giveaways?

So just to make me feel better, why don't you all share with me some of your "finer" moments where you completely forgot about something important!

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

Introducing the Forum!

Not sure how to get started?

Then get ready to have some fun!

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