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My Favorite Modest Tees and Layering Tops for Preteen & Teen Girls

May 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment

modest tees and camis My Favorite Modest Tees and Layering Tops for Preteen & Teen Girls

I’ll just come right out and admit: I hate shopping for clothes. I really do.

Don’t get me wrong, I love wearing cute clothes, and looking nice, but I honestly have so many texture/fabric and fitting issues that I end up sticking with my tried-and-true comfy clothes.

So the idea of shopping for, and with, my daughter who is barreling down on 13, has been daunting.

When my daughter was little, she wore whatever I put on her, as long as it didn’t have tags, so, as long as I could remove the tag, shopping for her was simple. As she grew, she never had huge opinions on her clothes, except that they not look ‘too girly’.

My only requirement, all along, has been that it not be immodest.

Folks, let me tell you, that ain’t easy, especially for preteen and teen girls.

Most things that fit my daughter when I buy them end up shrinking two or three sizes from a month’s worth of washings. And I use the term ‘fit‘ loosely – most items I find, technically fit onto her body, but don’t actually cover it.

I am so tired of seeing kid’s butt-cracks and underwear when I’m out and about.

ahem.

It makes me wonder if most parents just give up and allow it, simply because it is just so frustrating and, nearly impossible, to find clothing that covers hips, cleavage and butt-cracks.

After asking on Twitter a couple of times, I headed to DownEast Basics, but was disappointed. While their Women’s tops had nice lengths, the girl’s tops, though adorable, still didn’t seem very long for layering (please see * at bottom of post), and the long ones were tunics in patterns that didn’t interest my daughter.

I closed my browser feeling defeated again, and cussed Adam and Eve for eating that apple and sealing my fate to have to shop for clothes.

Several weeks later, I was back on the DownEast Basics site looking for some layering tops for myself and realized that they came in XX-Small, which would fit my preteen.

UGH – of course! I couldn’t believe I had overlooked this before.

A week later, my order arrived and I could not have been happier with the tops. The layering tops are a great length for wearing under shirts that are still in good shape, but are beginning to either shrink, or just be outgrown.

These tops also help with the low-rise jeans battle. It’s still difficult to find jeans that aren’t low-riders, and these tops keep underwear (and butt-cracks) covered.

After 4 months of wearing and washing, they are still the same length (no shrinkage), have held their shape, look great and the fabric hasn’t begun to pill. The colors haven’t even noticeably faded.

I feel so relieved to have these tops as an option. Even if I struggle to find other tops that are the right length, these tops make it a non-issue.

My only regret is that it took me so long to find them!

(And just because you might want to know, I was not paid or asked to write about these. I am sharing this simply because I know how difficult it was for me to find tops for my preteen daughter, and I hope this will help you.)

*(I may be wrong on this… it’s difficult to tell from the photos – I just sent a Tweet to them to ask, and I’ll update with their response)

Where have you found longer, more modest tops for preteen/teen girls? Share with me!

Filed Under: #4Kidz, Karla's blog, Purposeful Living, Retro Living, Smart and Useful

Change Isn’t Always Bad: How Google’s Reader News Helped My Minimalist Lifestyle

March 20, 2013 by 6 Comments

google reader demise Change Isnt Always Bad: How Googles Reader News Helped My Minimalist Lifestyle

So you’ve probably heard the news: Google is shutting down its reader after July 1st, this year.

I was sad when I learned this news. This was despite the fact that I had given up my reader nearly three years ago, for the ‘ease’ of email subscriptions.

In the name of ‘simplifying’ and ‘more manageable’, I had taken to signing up for all subscriptions via email. If email wasn’t available, I didn’t subscribe.

The thing was, I had all of my emails feeding into one account. So, even though I used my spam/reader email for subscriptions, it all still fed into my business email account.

You can see where this went downhill.

At first, when I dumped my reader, I had 2 or 3 favorites that I subscribed to via email. This worked great.

Then I added 2 more.

Then 4 more.

Everyone doesn’t post daily, nor do they post weekly. This continued to work for a bit. Eventually, however, I got to a lot of subscriptions that filled my inbox daily.

My work inbox was slowly being taken over by internet weeds.

I hate calling them that, because they are all valuable to me. I love all the sites/blogs that I subscribe to.

But they were choking out my work emails. It was getting harder and hard to find the emails that I needed to get to, to keep my work flow going.

It was NOISY! And I have a very low tolerance for noise. This made me sad, because, I intentionally subscribed to those sites because I liked them, yet I couldn’t enjoy them because I needed to find my work stuff.

too many email subscriptions Change Isnt Always Bad: How Googles Reader News Helped My Minimalist Lifestyle

delete. delete. delete.

Enter Google’s news.

While many lamented it (myself included), I woke up the next morning rethinking my subscriptions. The ‘hows’ and ‘whys’.

Google Reader’s demise forced me to face and rethink my subscriptions. Despite the fact that I had neglected and turned my back on using feed readers for years, they were back on my mind and had me rethinking how I was organizing and managing the internet. Remember, a minimalist lifestyle, isn’t only about possessions. It’s about all the clutter in your life. And my inbox was cluttered.

Lots of research later, I chose feedly. I added the feeds to feedly, which I had to do manually, since they were email subscriptions; there is no way to migrate them into a reader, unless you are already subscribed to them in a reader. Note: I did not move all of the subscriptions that I had in my Google Reader. I intentionally started fresh (I even unsubscribed from several of the email subscriptions.)

Screen Shot 2013 03 19 at 8.39.36 PM w550 h600 Change Isnt Always Bad: How Googles Reader News Helped My Minimalist Lifestyle

feedly feeds my visual addiction (all the pretty white space!). I love the simplicity of it, it is visually clean, and the iPhone app works flawlessly. The biggest bonus though: it has allowed me to clean up my inbox — I can now quickly find emails from clients, and don’t have to worry about missing one in the midst of all of the posts in my inbox.

I’m horrible at organizing and naming things (my Pinterest boards bear witness to that)… but I made a concerted effort to create category names that were meaningful and organized my feeds. I absolutely suggest this for anyone. Otherwise, you end up with stuff all over the place (like I did when I gave up on Google Reader, with categories like “mom blogs” — ugh!!). Have a ‘gifted’ category has allowed me to bookmark all of my posts for my weekly roundup in one spot.

I know I’ve used a lot of words to get to this point (ironic, given my minimalist stance…) but what I’m getting at is driving home the fact that technology does not have to rule you. YOU are in charge of it. Just make sure it’s meaningful.

And if it takes the sad sad news of Google Reader’s demise to drive that fact home… so be it.

(*if you want to switch to feedly, it’s super simple and their post here will explain it for you.)

Filed Under: Karla's blog, Minimalist Lifestyle, Purposeful Living, Retro Living, We love Technology Tagged With: , , , , , ,

How to Begin Living a Minimalist Lifestyle

March 4, 2013 by 12 Comments

butterfly1 How to Begin Living a Minimalist Lifestyle

Despite the fact that I have a tendency to be messy, I abhor clutter. I can’t stand it on my desk, I can’t stand it in my home, I can’t stand it in my mind.

I didn’t know what to call it at the time, but over the years, I’ve been slowly moving towards and creating a minimalist lifestyle. In a nutshell, a minimalist lifestyle is one that removes the clutter from your life. Not just your home and belongings. Your life.

It sounds radical, but it’s really not. Our home looks rather normal. We have a few paintings and photos on the wall, our home is furnished, though minimally. We have tvs, iPhones, iPads, iMacs, toys and (still too many) clothes. But, we do make a lot of choices that are different from most of society. What we are doing is trying to weed out all of the stuff that we don’t need.

A minimalist lifestyle does not have to include selling all of your possessions. Everyone’s minimalism looks different, because each is based on their own needs. For example, a part of it for us is having smartphones, iPads, iMacs for the entire family and very few knick-knacks (all I see is all.the.dust. when I see knick-knacks), for others it may be the opposite..

But the stumbling block in that, is that most of us are not really sure what we truly need. We are so used to being told what we need by others, by advertisers, by companies, that our minds are cluttered and we believe, on some level, that we have to have certain things in order to be happy.

What are some things you can do to quiet that noise, consider what you need, and begin living a simpler, less complicated, more minimalist lifestyle? I’ve compiled some of what I’ve gone through along the journey.

Stop comparing. Sounds simple, but trust me, I know how hard this is. For all of the years I have spent pursuing a simple lifestyle, I’ve spend twice as many comparing what others had, to what I had. But it does no good, and only clutters your mind and makes you unhappy. So just stop it.

Consider your priorities and values. This will make the next step easier. But first, you need to absolutely consider this. What is truly important to you and your family? If you skip this step, you’ll have no clear vision of what you want to accomplish in the next steps.

Envision and make a list. Take a moment and think about what your life would really look like with less stuff. What parts of your day are made more difficult because of ”stuff”? Remember – stuff is not just physical items. It also includes activities, commitments etc. Write these things down and consider what steps you can take to make those things less difficult and what you can just remove entirely.

Remove stuff. Yep. Just start removing stuff. Need help with that? You’re in luck, because I wrote a post on how to get started on decluttering.

Have a healthy relationship with stuff. We humans have a tendency to pour a ton of emotion into an item. Many of us physically ache when we think of getting rid of certain things. But consider: would your life end if all the stuff disappeared tomorrow? Or would you pick up and go on? I bet you would do the latter. So go forth and have a healthy, not dependent, relationship with your stuff.

Practice gratefulness. Even with minimal belongings, we still have so much more than most of the world. Appreciate it, be grateful, and share what you don’t need with others who do.

Remember, take these in baby steps. It will not happen overnight, especially if you have to get your family on-board, but I honestly can’t say that these are just suggestions. I have found that each of these steps must be considered and acted upon in order for the changes to have a meaningful and lasting impact.

It’s not a competition. Your minimalist lifestyle will absolutely look different from others. Revisit the first step often. Even good motives and changes can take on a mind of their own and we can quickly find that we are once again trapped in another “keeping up with the Joneses” lifestyle, and subject to judging and being judged for “not doing it right.”

Have you considered a minimalist lifestyle? What is holding you back from taking the steps that might get you there? Or what have you done that has worked for you?

 

Filed Under: Big Family, Little Home, It's the simple things, Karla's blog, Minimalist Lifestyle, Purposeful Living, Retro Living Tagged With: , , , ,

Birmingham, Alabama: The Magic City Commemorates Its Past and Looks to Its Future

January 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment

linn park statue w600 h600 Birmingham, Alabama: The Magic City Commemorates Its Past and Looks to Its Future

2013 is the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement, and throughout the year there are many events to commemorate and honor it.

Much has been written about it, and Jetsetter.com has even listed is as a Top 6 Travel Destination for 2013, so I’ve compiled some information for those of you who are looking for a trip to our beautiful city or just want to learn more about the past and journey of the people of our city and how it relates to the history of the entire country.

50 Year Foward

This site, from the City of Birmingham, is a beautiful tribute to the bravery of so many, who fought to move civil rights forward.

50 Years Forward has also partnered with Selma, AL, Washington, DC, Memphis, TN, Jackson, MS, Montgomery, AL, and Columbia, SC.

WHEN BIRMINGHAM’S BRAVEST were fighting for freedom in 1963, they were not alone. In cities all across the Southeast, courageous men and women joined in the movement that would break the vicious cycle of oppression—and change the world as we know it forever.

This year, as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of those fateful days, our sister cities in the Civil Rights Movement will come together in honoring the strength, the sacrifice and the triumph of all those who made it possible. Join us in celebrating 50 Years Forward.

50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham

via Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau

A list of events commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Birmingham Civil Right movement during 2013.

Birmingham celebrates 50 years of civil rights history

via USAtoday

Events to see, and places to visit, including spots to see along the Civil Rights Heritage Trail.

From the ashes and rubble of these devastating acts arose the passion and determination necessary to catapult the fight for equal rights for people of all races. All of it will be on display in 2013 as Birmingham honors the lessons learned from its past. Organizations and institutions throughout the city will tell stories of 1963 through art exhibits, theater productions, musical performances and more.

Five Things To Expect In Birmingham 2013

via the Daily South

The cat’s out of the bag: Birmingham is where everyone wants to be. The latest: Jetsetter.com named The Magic City one of the top six travel destinations for 2013 on The Today Show. Of course we already thought that. (Southern Living is based in Birmingham.)

We’re excited about the attention our hometown is receiving. Here are five things to look forward to here in 2013.

UAB 50 Years Forward Events

via University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB)

Featured Events during 2013, brought to you by the University of Alabama, Birmingham. One of the featured events includes the world premiere of composer Yotam Haber’s A More Convenient Season, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing.

UAB and City of Birmingham announce partnership commemorating Civil Rights:

As the whole world watched, events in Birmingham, Alabama, sparked the beginning of the end of a centuries-long struggle for freedom in the United States of America. In the year leading up to the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, the city’s most courageous citizens fought for a society in which all could all live as equals.

50 Years Forward: We commemorate “The Movement that Changed the World.”

As an institution committed to service, to excellence, to diversity, and to community involvement, the University of Alabama at Birmingham is a proud partner in the ongoing celebration of the strength and determination of those who made progress possible. It is our honor to join together with others to mark the enduring legacy of this incredible and now-storied victory over oppression, and to do so in a way that looks to the future. To the next “50 Years Forward.” To sharing new knowledge that benefits society. To advancing the cause of human rights as we educate tomorrow’s leaders. To improving quality of life for all.

Because as Birmingham goes, so goes the nation.

Birmingham Civil Rights Institue

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is “a large interpretive museum and research center in Birmingham, Alabama that depicts the struggles of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s.” and whose mission is to “promote civil and human rights worldwide through education.”

If you are from Birmingham: what would you recommend to visitors? If you have visited Birmingham, what was your favorite spot to visit? If you are planning a trip to Birmingham, what are you planning to see?

Filed Under: Karla's blog, Purposeful Living, Sweet Home Alabama Tagged With: , , , , ,

Running With Children

November 27, 2012 by 4 Comments

running with children w600 Running With Children

We’ve recently started running with our children. As we approached this, we knew it wouldn’t, and shouldn’t, be approached the same way that we had approached our own running. Little bodies are different from adult bodies.

We wanted to make sure that the emphasis was on fun, not competition and distance, and we didn’t want to hurt their muscles, joints and bones, doing what should, ideally, be a fun time together.

I researched various things: shoes, clothing, running form/style, distance (is it safe for kids to run 5ks?), how often… Any and everything.

In hopes that more of you might be encouraged to try this out, I thought I would share some of what I’ve learned, and in my next post, I will share some of my favorite links on this topic.

Consider Some Benefits of Childhood Running

Before you close this page, and deem it irrelevant, consider that there are many benefits to running with your child. *

Running is not only good for the body, it’s also great for the mind. Creativity has been shown to increase post-run.

If your child is overly-competitive, or if you are trying to teach your child to not fall into the trap of comparing himself to others (read: improve self-esteem and confidence), running allows children to learn to work with a team, but mainly, to shoot for their own personal bests (aka: Personal Records, or PRs).

Running can help improve coordination, especially when trail running is added to the mix.

Running does not cost a lot. Unlike other sports, running only requires proper footwear and clothing for the elements.

Running as a family helps develop self-discipline. Who wants to be the one who tells the family ‘no’. (Be prepared for the occasional digging in of the heels, but use it as a lesson on how one person affects the entire family)

IMG 5090 w600 Running With Children

Things to Keep In Mind

Mix it up. Run some, walk some. Change your location, terrain and scenery. Run at the track. Run along a trail. Do speed times one day. Distance, at a slow pace, another.

Don’t run in Bob the Builder Sneakers. Try to purchase some shoes with good support.

Keep it fun. It’s not supposed to be torture. Keep it light and happy – talk about your day. Figure out math and time. Just ‘be‘ together.

Don’t push your child beyond what they can do. You know your child. There can be a fine line between encouraging to go a bit further, and going too far.

Running races is not always in the best interest of young children. Consider the emotional well-being (how do they handle competition, and the need to be first or win)

In the same premise, increase distance with age. But still be sensitive to maturity, both physically and emotionally.

Already mentioned, but it can’t be emphasized enough: have fun. Your child should not be behind you sobbing. Be encouraging. Help him to go a bit further each time. Talk about the day. See it as a time to connect and bond.

*Note: Please consult with your child’s doctor prior to starting any running program with them, most certainly, if your child has any known health issues.

Filed Under: #4Kidz, Emotional Needs, Exceptional Parenting, giftedness, Intensities, Karla's blog, Purposeful Living, Running, The Hive Tagged With: , , , , ,

What Do You Really Need? Thoughts on Decluttering Your Home

May 15, 2012 by 5 Comments

20120514 225750 What Do You Really Need? Thoughts on Decluttering Your Home

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful. – William Morris

I’ve moved about 35 times since I was born. Probably more than that, but, while compiling my list, I lost count around 1995 (I was able to pick my count up again around 1997. So… there’s that…)

Moving is a big pain in the butt, and the less you have, the easier it is to do. Moving frequently provided a constant excuse to sift and toss stuff that had accumulated since the last move.

Until I had children. Then it became harder. And harder.

It is near impossible for a new mother to fathom ridding a storage container of even one horribly blurry photo, congratulatory card, or itty bitty unused newborn diaper.

It would have been easier to rewire my house.

Despite my best efforts to avoid ever being featured on an episode of “Hoarders”, when the kids and I moved to Alabama to join Randy, there was much tossing.

Interestingly enough, I had thought I was all packed for the move. When the kids and I had moved to my parent’s I’d kept everything boxed and packed, except necessities, since the stay was (supposed to be) temporary. All I thought we had to do was load it onto a truck.

But once I tried to view the things moved into our home, it became apparent that, even if all of it did fit, it wasn’t necessarily needed. We didn’t need two blenders, or three can openers, or sheets for mattress sizes we didn’t own. So we went through every packed box, tossing and combining contents.

In the end, we probably tossed (either in the recycle/trash or to donations) a third of what had been packed.

Of all of that “stuff”, the only thing I have missed was an art portfolio that was accidentally thrown away *slight stifled sob* – but even that gave me an excuse to create new art. Other than that? I couldn’t tell you a single thing that was thrown out, and neither could the children.

I’m not just talking about getting rid of clutter. I’m talking about going beyond that. If it doesn’t add beauty or usefulness to your home, take a really good look at it and consider if it’s worth keeping/dusting/cleaning/washing etc.

My point is not that ‘stuff’ is bad, but rather our relationship with it can be. It weighs us down.

It was freeing to leave so much of what I had thought was important in a trash bin.

Some (very basic) Steps for Getting Rid of Things

There are thousands of fabulously written articles by honest-to-goodness organizers on the internet, and I encourage you to do a search on them, and try their suggestions. What follows are just some of the things that have worked for me.

Assess: Does it bring beauty and pleasure to your home? Does it make a regular task more simple? If not, toss it. Our small home has made us live more purposefully. We have to think about the things we own and why we own them.

Start small: a room in your home, a corner of that room, a drawer. Break it down to as small as necessary to remove the feeling of being overwhelmed by it.

Time yourself: set the timer for 15 minutes and go through a spot in your home.

Sort: Keep, Trash/Recycle, Donate. Quickly place things into one of the piles. Don’t hold on to any one object too long before deciding which pile to place it in. Go with your first reaction. Add a ‘Maybe’ pile if it’s a struggle but then go back through the piles once more, quickly. Box up anything left in the “Maybe” pile, and give yourself 3 months before revisiting the box and either tossing or keeping.

One in, one out: Every time you purchase a new book, an old one needs to go away (donate, give to a friend, sell)

Make it a regular task: Because we live in a small home, any clutter is quickly felt. While this makes it easier for me to stay inspired to stick with it, it’s still something I have to set aside time for, nearly weekly, just to stay on top of it. Whether it’s my computer desktop, the floor around my desk, the children’s bookshelf, the kitchen counter, there is always some place in the home that needs de-cluttering attention.

What are your decluttering tips? What are you holding onto, physically or emotionally, that you need to toss?

Filed Under: Big Family, Little Home, It's the simple things, Karla's blog, Minimalist Lifestyle, Purposeful Living, Retro Living

Personal Space in a Small Home

April 13, 2012 by 8 Comments

personal space in a small home Personal Space in a Small Home

We live in a small home, which means that, with six bodies inhabiting it, personal space is at a premium.

Creating personal space for the children was a top priority for me. But there were several things to consider first.

  • Funds are limited right now (and there is no equity in an underwater mortgage), so every decision has to be carefully weighed.
  • Not only is our home small, but it has a difficult layout, and some really weird interior lines.

The first year we were together, we spent a lot of time observing how we used the space. We hated the thought of jumping into building/fixing/improving something, only to realize it was a waste and that no one used or even cared about the change.

So, during that time, we compiled many ideas. Not only were these ideas necessary for creating personal space, but also to help with organization.

A pretty basic one was hooks for everyone in the bathroom (towels) and by the front door (coats and backpacks).

DSC 0240 w600 h700 Personal Space in a Small Home

Those hooks? Invaluable. Not much of a personal-space-maker, but a real sanity saver for me.

Our search led us to many wonderful ideas, but we still had to tweak and adapt many to fit our own space.

One of the best ideas we came across was this:

600x450xphoto1 w600 h700.jpg.pagespeed.ic 1 Personal Space in a Small Home

Shelving for the bunk beds made from vinyl gutters. Seriously. (instructions follow)

How awesome are they?!?

Randy came across the idea at some point, and tucked it away in his mind. I was super excited to see how they’d turn out, and I could not have been more pleased with how they looked when they were hung up.

Because they are vinyl (and cheap), we were totally ok with them decorating and personalizing them anyway they wanted, to make them their own. Stickers, markers, whatever.

IMG 1574 w600 h700 Personal Space in a Small Home

“My Little Pony” becomes ‘so yesterday’? No problem – remove the stickers the old fashioned ‘peel and scrape’ way, or just run to the hardware store and purchase another couple of feet of gutter.

IMG 1579 w600 h700 Personal Space in a Small Home

What do I love about these shelves?

1) Since the shelves hang right over their beds, they couldn’t stick out too far. These stick out just enough to hold a tissue box, but not over the bed where you’d knock it or kick it during the night.

IMG 1582 w600 h700 Personal Space in a Small Home

2) Crazy sleeper, and you happen to kick the shelf? No problem: the depth of the gutter keeps things from falling off onto the bed.

3) Bonk your head on it? No sharp edges.

4) The amount of things they can keep by their beds is huge (used tissues, marbles, race cars…), so we have them clean them out every Saturday. This prevents potential hoarding issues ;)

IMG 1580 w600 h700 Personal Space in a Small Home

Since I took these photos, we’ve hung a magnetic strip of metal (be sure to sand the cut edges so that little fingers don’t get cut), with some cool magnets, above the shelves so that they can hang artwork, photos, etc by their beds as well.

The 6 year old is pretty eclectic with his choices, as you can see:

600x450xphoto1 w600 h700.jpg.pagespeed.ic Personal Space in a Small Home

I’m not sure what the metal strip is called (‘metal strip’? lol), but you can see it a bit better below. I like it because it already had holes in it for securing to the wall.

600x450xphoto w600 h700.jpg.pagespeed.ic Personal Space in a Small Home

Want to make your own vinyl gutter bookshelves?

Materials:

  • vinyl rain gutter (any length; honestly, we purchased them without knowing how long we wanted each shelf to be. We decided on 3′ each)
  • left and right end caps for each
  • 2 brackets for each (more, if you are creating a longer shelf)
  • hacksaw

Instructions:

  1. Cut your gutter to predetermined length with the hacksaw.
  2. Put end caps over the cut edges on the ends.
  3. Snap on brackets and then slide them into position, according to where your walls studs are.
  4. Mark the position of the studs on the wall.
  5. Screw shelves to the wall.

Your turn: In what ways have you been able to create personal space for your children in your home?

Filed Under: #4Kidz, Big Family, Little Home, Karla's blog, Purposeful Living, Retro Living

Big Family, Little House

April 5, 2012 by 27 Comments

One of my favorite books growing up was Little House in the Big Woods. I loved the images that my mind’s eye visualized of the Ingalls’ sweet small home.

From the comfort of my own bed and bedroom, it was easy to romanticize the idea of everyone in a one room home, baking and cooking over the fire in the huge fireplace, and later bundled under layers of blankets in the dead of winter to stay warm.

Laura made it sound so sweet and wonderful. I don’t recall a single argument or shouting match being mentioned.

I would love to know Ma and Pa’s secret for keeping the peace.

Small spaces can be difficult and bring out issues that may not otherwise occur in a larger space.

The fact is, by today’s standards, we live in the same sort of space.

Oh, we may be spoiled by our HVAC, indoor plumbing and other modern conveniences, but our living space is quite similar in size to the Ingalls.

Last year I wrote a post briefly addressing our living situation. At that time, I had planned on writing a series addressing some of how we make our small space work, but if I’m honest, I got caught up in a touch of embarrassment and fear.

IMG 7454 Big Family, Little House

We live in a two bedroom home, with 4 children.

Wait! Isn’t this blog called “Living the Life Fantastic”?! What’s so freaking fantastic about that??

We have no choice at this point. Randy purchased the home to flip, right before the housing market crashed and before he knew he’d have a family. We are underwater in this housing market. (Ironically, the house was 3 [very tiny] bedrooms, and he converted it to 2 shortly before we met)

We plan on making interior changes and building on in the near future, but for now, this is what we have.

IMG 7195 Big Family, Little House

Some days it’s difficult. Most days, it’s an amazing blessing.

Our children have bonded in such a way that I had thought I could only wish for. They are ‘besties’, and I firmly believe that this sharing of space has taught them more about sharing and respect than I ever could have, left to my own devices, in any other situation.

I am grateful for this time.

And with so many wishing they had a home at all, I am unbelievably grateful for this tiny space we inhabit.

Over the next few weeks, I will be (finally) writing that series on how we make our small space work. I’d love to hear your own ‘small space’ ideas.

Filed Under: "Good luck with that", #4Kidz, Big Family, Little Home, Karla's blog, Purposeful Living, Retro Living

SOPA and what you need to know

January 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment

the internet needs you 300x263 SOPA and what you need to know

The countdown is on, and SOPA is expected to pass through the Senate on January 24th. (*UPDATE 1/19/2012 : Key Supporters of the bill have backed down after Wednesday’s protest)

Tomorrow, January 18th, 2012, many of the most popular sites on the internet will be taking part in a ‘blackout’ of their sites to protest this bill.

While none of our sites are equal to Mozilla (Firefox), WordPress.org or Wikipedia‘s traffic (<<< those links will take you to posts on their stance on this bill), we are taking part, to show our disapproval of this bill in its current state.

Our own sites will be blacked-out.

While we sympathize with those who have their work stolen from piracy sites online, this bill is not a good compromise.

It will change the internet as you know it.

Please educate yourself on this topic (in addition to the links above):

Stop American Censorship
Strike Against SOPA
WIRED.com – Black out your site the Google friendly way
SOPA Blackout rebuffed by bill authors (*duh…)
and on…
and on…
and on…
and at this point of my list [not trying to be rude] but, I say, just do your own Google search on SOPA Blackout (see how there are currently more than 2600 (!!) news stories on this?)… There is so much info out there…

And if you are so inclined, please add these plugins to your WordPress sites:

SOPA Strike (you will see out black-out tomorrow, January 18th, 2012)
Stop SOPA Ribbon (you can see this in the upper right-side of this site)

On that note — all of our sites will be on ‘blackout’ tomorrow.

Educate yourself.

(*this post is being cross-posted on all of our sites: Archer Creative, Living The Life Fantastic, Karla Archer )

as always — please feel free to include your own links on this issue…

Filed Under: Karla's blog, Purposeful Living, We love Technology

How I Almost Ruined Christmas

November 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment

tra·di·tion/trəˈdiSHən/

  • The transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way.
  • A long-established custom or belief that has been passed on in this way.

One of the beautiful things about blogging is the connections we make as we read the stories of others lives and see a part of ourselves. This “keeping it real” attitude (even if it’s totally slightly exaggerated) is what makes us feel a bit more comfortable sharing parts of our own lives – those pieces that we might have otherwise been too scared to share.

The ugly underbelly…

And since I began blogging, over 8 yrs ago, I’ve prided myself on writing authentically and putting myself out there.

Pride.

Maybe that is the key word to this post.

We all have it, to some extent, don’t we; despite being told it can be our downfall. (and why does that never seem to play out fairly across the board??)

christmas post image2 300x300 How I Almost Ruined Christmas

My point? This is one of those stories.

I had big hopes for last Christmas.

Hopes.

Maybe that is the key word…

Or maybe it is just when hopes and pride collide.

I’m not sure which has the potential to cause the most pain in our lives.

To be clear, I’m not talking about the kind of hope that helps keep you from dying in a pit. Or the sort that allows you to keep your sanity in the midst of unthinkable situations.

christmas post image4 300x300 How I Almost Ruined Christmas

I’m talking about the sort of hope that sends you into a frenzy of high expectations and elevated desires. The desire for perfection.

It was that hidden desire for perfection and that sense of pride that fills me when I succeed, that nearly turned last Christmas into a big fat, freakin’ failure.

We didn’t want our Christmas to be like everyone else’s. We wanted it to look different. We wanted it to be intentional and mean something more than it has in the past. So we stripped it down. Way down.

christmas post image3 300x300 How I Almost Ruined Christmas

As noble as this sounds, in the end, I panicked and got wrapped up in making the imperfect appear ”perfect” by the world’s standards. Rather than let it be and trusting my gut, I still worried what others would think, or worse, what I would think December 26th.

So Christmas eve, I fell asleep on the couch, staring at our tree which was covered completely with homemade ornaments.

Heavy-hearted, trying not to cry, I’d convinced myself that it wasn’t perfectly imperfect. I felt like a failure before it had even come to be.

So worried and convinced, was I, that the children would hate their new Christmas, that I nearly solidified that reality for them.

christmas post images 300x300 How I Almost Ruined Christmas

It was our first Christmas as a family, and I was trying to create traditions that mattered before we even knew what would matter.

But traditions should come from realizing the things that have value and meaning. Not something forced upon us.

Traditions are those unexpected things that we realize set the tone and create a feeling of bonding and connectedness.

Sometimes we get it horribly wrong. Sometimes we nail it.

But we never know until we try.

In the end, all of my worries and fear gained me nothing but a bad night’s sleep. It was a wonderful, beautiful day. The children were the sweetest, most grateful children you could imagine. Their hearts are so sweet and focused right where they need to be.

christmas post image5 300x300 How I Almost Ruined Christmas

I have so much to learn from them.

Filed Under: #4Kidz, Holidays, Karla's blog, Purposeful Living, traditions Tagged With:
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