Live A Little - Take A Picture; It'll Last Longer

One of the funny things about blogging is that sometimes it stops you from living life, even as you're trying to document how you're living life. My husband rolls his eyes whenever I pause to take a picture of my meal before we start eating and the kids alternate between wanting me to blog about their every move and running away from the camera.

My obaasan takes a zillion pictures at family gatherings. It's a bit of a joke among our relatives since it seems to take forever to get everyone in the same place and all smiling while she frets over taking the shot. And someone's head inevitably gets cut out. But you know what? It's really, really cool to look at those pictures later on. Roo found an an album she made for me with lots of pictures from my childhood and high school graduation and was totally fascinated because I looked so much like her. Quite possibly with the same disdainful eye-rolling!

I have a nice DSLR but I take more pictures with my phone. The quality is not as good but I love being able to whip it out on a whim. Of course, digital photography occasionally gives digital snafus, as evidenced by the weird color variations in the pictures below.

We're not a family portrait kind of family. Never have been. Our stories are silly and snapshotty and I love it that way.

How do you Live A Little on camera?

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Live A Little - Embrace the Old Fashioned

Technology keeps updating at a dizzying pace. Personal computers were just starting to be introduced when I was little but in the eight years since Roo was born, iPods and all their Apple-y brethren have completely reshaped not only the computer industry but also music and telecommunications. We live in an increasingly smart and interconnected world, although sometimes it's easy to feel disconnected from other people when mass media is encroaching on all fronts.

On occasion, it's nice to step away from all the progress. Do something simple and time-consuming with your family. Unplug and focus on what's right in front of you instead of what's all around you.

This weekend, we co-hosted a Halloween party at our neighbors' house. We invited kids from school and the neighborhood. They bobbed for apples and sat around a campfire and jumped in a rented bouncy house. (I can't claim any credit for that; the neighbors procured it- it was the biggest one I ever saw!) To prepare, we gathered up all of our Halloween accoutrements and carted them down the street. Bob painted some panels to make bean bag toss games and sewed a zillion bean bags.

I baked several dozen cupcakes, using homemade pumpkin butter instead of oil and eggs. I made cream cheese frosting from scratch. We dipped marshmallow pops in tinted white chocolate and the kids decorated them.

I'm not usually the sort of mom who goes overboard on holiday decorating. I didn't grow up with that stuff and the cynic in me still thinks it's a little silly. But how awesome is it to celebrate the everyday stuff? Roo and Jasper had so much fun putting sprinkles and icing on the treats. They don't look quite as adorable as something on Pinterest but they're still pretty cute. 

I'm going to have to drop perfection and futuristic for some homespun fun this season. Get back to basics a little bit. Live a Little by living in the moment instead of trying to stay ahead.

How do you embrace the old fashioned?

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You can also use the image below by getting the code, and link to our Pinterest board. If you would like to contribute to our Live a Little board on Pinterest, let me know and we'll add you.

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Live A Little - Take It Outside

We've had bizarre weather here in Kansas lately, which is pretty much par for the course. It's been unseasonably cold, then crisp and sunny, then crazy hot. Our summer was so hot that we didn't get to spend a whole lot of time outside. And just the other day, there was a massive dust storm that blew over the city. It left a fine layer of dust all over everything. Truly strange stuff. It was the first time I've ever really been able to imagine what the dustbowl years of the Great Depression must have been like.

Lately, though, I've been wanting to get outside. We finally had some friends over last night and ate on the patio, letting the kids run amok while we sat and chatted. One of our friends even dragged his guitar out, which made for an especially pleasant time.

It was too hot to have a campfire but I'm looking forward to having some quality outdoor time before the weather gets really cold. It's nice to breathe fresh air and just sit back and unwind.

Join us!

Participate in the weekly Live a Little blog hop! Write a blog post how you “live a little,” what’s your small way of living life to the fullest and add your blog post to the InLinkz widget above. Rules: Link to bit.ly/livelittle, and if you want, add the get the InLinkz code for your post. If you post the widget in your blog post, please add these rules as well.




You can also use the image below by getting the code, and link to our Pinterest board. If you would like to contribute to our Live a Little board on Pinterest, let me know and we'll add you.

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Live a Little - Negativity Bites

"Negativity festers in you, man." – Ivan Alexeev, Tapeheads
Sometimes it's hard to avoid negative thinking. When it rains, it pours and that is doubly true when stress is a factor. If you're already bottoming out, it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Okay, I know I'm writing in cliches but seriously, who hasn't fallen prey to the gloom and doom of the self-pity party? I try to limit my whining online but I'm sure it's obvious when I'm feeling rotten about life. 
I remember my grandma telling me not to be such a sourpuss all the time and thinking that she just didn't understand… of course, now that I have a melodramatic eight year old daughter, I can totally see where she was coming from! I am constantly telling Roo that changing her attitude can change the kind of day she's having and that when she's mired in pre-teen angst, she is truly the only one suffering. Well, aside from her long-suffering family, that is.
It's easier to dish out advice about positive thinking than to implement it on one's own life. I've been looking for a job recently after being a stay at home mom for the better part of a decade and it's ridiculously humbling. Sure the economy is down and all but it's still demoralizing when you don't cinch an interview right away. Especially when you feel like you have all the qualifications, just an iffy resume. I've been trying really hard not to get discouraged and, really, the best way is to keep trying and hoping for the best.
Katja wrote about the importance of avoiding negative people and I think that is absolutely right on. When you're teetering on the brink of self-doubt, you don't need to question whether your friends are going to help you up or push you over! If you need daily affirmations to confirm your self-worth, do it. Just make sure your positivity isn't achieved by dragging someone else down. I've seen too much of that online recently and the rash of bullying stories is way out of hand.  When you think of all the hardships that people face in the world, it's really pretty hard to complain.
I'm trying to remember that!
How do you keep negativity at bay?

"I Don't Let the Little Things Get Me Down" by The Young Fresh Fellows, 

one of my favorite bands of all time.

Join us!

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You can also use the image below by getting the code, and link to our Pinterest board. If you would like to contribute to our Live a Little board on Pinterest, let me know and we'll add you.

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Live A Little - Foodie Made Easy

One of the best ways to enjoy life and live a little is to have spontaneous get-togethers. Of course, not all of us are born hostesses who can throw together a party in an instant. Some of us have to wing it. 

In my youth, entertaining used to be pretty simple- buy a twelve pack and a couple of bags of chips or uncork a bottle of wine. Now it's all about cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. I maintain, however, that foodie doesn't need to be fancy. As long as it looks moderately appetizing and tastes fantastic, your friends will be happy. 

Here's the easiest, quickest, gourmet-ish snack you can make. Take one bottle of Fischer & Wieser Original Roasted Raspberry Chipotle sauce. Pour about 1/4 of it over a block of cream cheese on a pretty platter. Surround with crackers. Devour.

The last time I did this, we went through two blocks of cream cheese. Nom. This stuff is also unbelievable for leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches. They sent a copy of their catalog along with this bottle of sauce and I want literally one of everything. Perfect pantry goods for insta-parties!

Check out this easy gourmet dinner suggestion using Fischer & Weiser Whole Lemon & Fig Marmalade:

Chicken Breasts with Whole Lemon & Fig Marmalade

Figs have been rated as one of the world’s healthiest foods, and have been found to aid weight loss, lower blood pressure, and promote healthy bone density.٭ With only 2 main ingredients, this recipe couldn’t be easier, healthier or more delicious!  

Prep Time:  5-10 minutes
Cook Time:  35 minutes

Serves 4

1-1/4 cup Fischer & Wieser Whole Lemon & Fig Marmalade
non-stick cooking spray
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange chicken breasts in baking dish; spoon marmalade over breasts. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 35 minutes, basting frequently with more marmalade. Remove chicken from baking dish and place on warm platter. Pour cooking juices over chicken as sauce. Garnish with fresh parsley and lemon slices if desired. Serve with a tossed salad and a side of rice, and you’ve got dinner!      

Visit Fischer & Wieser on Facebook and follow them on Twitter and Pinterest. Try not to drool on your keyboard.

Join us!

Participate in the weekly Live a Little blog hop! Write a blog post how you “live a little,” what’s your small way of living life to the fullest and add your blog post to the InLinkz widget above. Rules: Link to bit.ly/livelittle, and if you want, add the get the InLinkz code for your post. If you post the widget in your blog post, please add these rules as well.





You can also use the image below by getting the code, and link to our Pinterest board. If you would like to contribute to our Live a Little board on Pinterest, let me know and we'll add you.

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In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and the WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that I received a sample of the sauce shown to facilitate this review. No compensation has been provided. As usual, all opinions are my own. 

Live A Little - Refresh for Fall

Fall is my favorite season. I grew up in Hawaii, where there is no overt change of seasons, so the crispening of the air and the leaves starting to Fall has always seemed very romantic to me. Not to mention that it's back to school and Fall fashion in all the magazines and the onslaught of the holiday season. And Halloween. Oh, how I love Halloween!

Our next door neighbor started selling Scentsy and I bought this Whoot Owl Warmer as a harbinger of Fall. 

Isn't it the cutest? I've got a mix of Pink Peppercorn, Rio Beach and Weathered Leather bars melting.

Our neighborhood is full of big lots, most are 3 acres or so. It's great for keeping your distance and having kind of a country feeling smack dab in the middle of the city, but it kind of sucks for one thing: trick or treating. Since the driveways are so long and the distances between houses so vast, we don't get a lot of trick or treaters. We usually rectify this by going to a friend's house in a easily walkable neighborhood but it's so well-trafficked due to huge and ornate yard displays that there are huge lines and a strict one piece of candy per kid limit. We like seeing how everyone outdoes themselves year to year but the crowds are a pain. I miss the trick or treating of my youth, when there were block parties and cakewalks and costume contests.

This year, we're trying to give our kids a taste of that. We're co-hosting a Halloween party with our neighbors down the block whose older daughter is smack dab between Roo and Jasper at school. We'll have games, treats, a costume contest… maybe even a cakewalk if kids can be coerced into such a thing these days. An easy way to Live a Little. I'm really looking forward to refreshing our Fall traditions, starting with Halloween. 

How do you freshen up for Fall?

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You can also use the image below by getting the code, and link to our Pinterest board. If you would like to contribute to our Live a Little board on Pinterest, let me know and we'll add you.

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Live A Little - Fun, Natural Fun

I am not a lot of fun naturally.

I don't mean that in a self-deprecating way, it's just that I wasn't a very playful kid so I'm having to relearn how to just relax and enjoy myself. When I watch my kids run around and wreak havoc, I have to stop my natural urge to break them up and tell them to sit still. I was a kid who liked to sit in corners with a book or a sketchpad but I'm really thankful my children do that AND like to get dirty and loud. They enjoy themselves without overthinking everything, which I am trying to do.

This weekend we went to a Renaissance festival and a classic car show. It was kind of awesome. Not highbrow awesome but the weather was gorgeous and we got to see a bunch of friends.

Fun. Plain, simple, worn out and in bed fast asleep by 9pm family fun…

How do you make time for fun?

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You can also use the image below by getting the code, and link to our Pinterest board. If you would like to contribute to our Live a Little board on Pinterest, let me know and we'll add you.

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Live A Little - Dreaming Is Free

This week's Live A Little is about the importance of (day)dreaming. I was going to get all philosophical about it until I realized that Blondie already said everything I wanted to say about it. With a backbeat, even. And a super cute blue jumpsuit ensemble on this TV special from 1979.

As bad as the economy is right now, dreaming is still free. (I love Debbie Harry's political rant in the middle of Heart of Glass!) Take advantage of it and let your mind wander. 
My dreams right now are about fall fashion and taking a cruise someday.  What are you (day)dreaming about?

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Live A Little - Make Healthy Choices

I'm trying to make better choices in my life. Case in point: I was having the urge to make something new and decided to try one of the recipes I've been drooling over on Pinterest. While I was tempted to try the homemade peanut butter cups or 3-ingredient Nutella cookies (!), I opted for this instead:

And it was good. But better yet, it made me feel good. And I got Jasper to drink one, too. See how easy it is to make healthier choices? 

Green smoothie: one cup Greek nonfat yogurt, two handfuls of spinach, one cup of pineapple chunks in juice, 2 T flaxseeds, one frozen banana. Blend. Nom, nom. 

What healthy choices have you made to help you Live A Little?

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Live A Little - Making Me Time

It's a little ironic that I'm writing today's Live A Little post on a Tuesday, since Monday was Labor Day and was spent having a craft party with Roo and a bunch of her friends. It's about finding time for yourself and recharging your independent soul. 

It's easy to lose sight of our personal identities while we learn to be parents. Babies add a whole new dynamic to our lives and I think it's pretty natural to throw yourself into your new role wholeheartedly. When we had Roo, our lives shifted so we could focus on her. We mostly did baby-centric things, eating out at kid-friendly restaurants, doing activities that would include her. We stopped having our own hobbies. Probably me more than Bob. I embraced my mommydom, even as I started feeling kind of trapped by it. 

By the time Jasper was born, we realized that it was important to try and carve out some couple time to do things together sans kids but I still didn't really feel comfortable wanting to get out by myself. I still feel like it's an imposition, that I have to ask for permission to go out with a friend and be on a timetable. In a way, it's like being in high school again.

What's super weird about it is that these restrictions are totally in my own head. Bob doesn't stop me from going out on occasion, I do. I've been making a real effort to do things that interest me without having to justify it to myself. To that end, I've been taking bellydancing once a week and working out almost every day. I'm making sure I read things that aren't directly child or blog-related. I'm trying to mellow out and find me again. 

How do you retain your sense of self in motherhood?

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Live A Little - Finding Home

I know you've probably heard this song way too many times by now but this week's Live A Little theme is "Home" and it's what popped into my mind immediately. Of course, when I sing it, I change the words to "home is wherever I'm with Roo…"

I'd feel bad about not including Jasper's name but he absolutely hates it when I sing. No joke. My singing voice is really not that horrible, either… That boy is a conundrum. Mystifyingly, one of his favorite refrains is "I wanna go home!" which he repeats with a dire sense of urgency, even when tucked into his own bed. Not sure what that means but he says it an awful lot when he's sleepy.

I've always thought that home is more of a sense than a geographical location. Maybe I think that because I don't have a childhood home to go back to. I grew up in Hawaii and miss the islands but I think Austin, where I went to college, is a close second. And I did love Seattle. Now, home is where my family is. I suspect that as they grow up and find their place I will follow them. I wonder if they'll think of Wichita as home, or our house. They love our neighborhood, our street, their school. They have a very strong sense of home. I hope they hold it close to their hearts.

What do you think makes a home?

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Live A Little - Education Never Ends

I've never understood people who think learning ends when you get out of school. When I stop learning, I'll be dead! The opportunity to learn new things is the most compelling reason to get out of bed in the morning, as far as I'm concerned. It's probably why I love the internet so much: all that information floating around, just waiting to be discovered.

Of course, information overload is inevitable these days. You can easily get sidetracked by some bit of data and click through to something else… and before you know it, you've spent an hour reading about something that might not be pertinent to your original search. Sometimes this is a lot of fun, admittedly, but sometimes you want your content to be curated a little more– especially if you're actually trying to learn something specific.

I love finding knowledgeable mentors on sites like Pinterest and Learnist and following specific boards about archaeology or medieval jewelry. They're like digital sherpas, showing you cool stuff without all the extraneous stuff. I love it when people think I'm worth following, too. It makes me feel like I'm passing the torch, somehow.

P.S. The Learnist link above might be broken. I am hoping they get their site back up and running- it's like Pinterest's brainy older sister, with targeted tutorials and academic chops. I got early access via Klout and have only one board thus far, to help me practice bellydancing.

Share your Live a Little suggestions with the Skimbaco every Monday by adding the link to your Live a Little blog post in the InLinkz widget below. Rules: Link either to Skimbacolifestyle.com OR grab the InLinkz code for your blog post – or do both! If you post the widget in your blog post, please add the rules as well.

Live A Little - Savor Summer

Wichita has a fabulous zoo so we've been frequent visitors since before Roo was born. This summer, our patronage has been a little spotty since it's been so stinking hot. Yesterday was beautiful– with a slight breeze, even!– so we headed out to the zoo bright and early. The animals seemed excited at the break in the heatwave. It seemed like a fitting end to the summer, since Roo starts school on Wednesday and Jasper starts next Monday.

What better way to Live a Little than by fraternizing with goats and taking crazy iPhone photos? 

Share your Live a Little suggestions with the Skimbaco every Monday by adding the link to your Live a Little blog post in the InLinkz widget below. Rules: Link either to Skimbacolifestyle.com OR grab the InLinkz code for your blog post – or do both! If you post the widget in your blog post, please add the rules as well. This week's topic: savor summer. Next week's topic: educate (yourself or others).

Live A Little - Sometimes You Have to Splurge

I'm a bargain hunter. While I would never classify myself as frugal, necessarily, I always scour the sale racks first and look for the best deals. That being said, I appreciate quality and craft so when I say "bargain" I don't always mean "cheap." And sometimes you've got to suck it up and fork over the big bucks to get what you want.

My mom taught me that lesson when I was little, when she was working three jobs but still making time to do something really special every month, like taking me to see Nureyev dance or sharing a meal at a fancy restaurant. She still goes on and on about the importance of exposing kids to culture and new things and though I like to roll my eyes, I know she's right.

We never had extra cash for buying clothes. My school wardrobe usually consisted of things my grandmother bought for me while I was visiting New Jersey in the summertime. She never could figure out why I didn't want to buy corduroys! Aside from the charming vip-vip sound my always chunky thighs made, no one in Hawaii EVER wore cords. Or socks, for that matter. I had a totally weird east coast preppy look for years until I started thrift shopping in junior high. Then I was just plain weird…

Anyway, Guess jeans and Esprit coordinates were not typically in our budget. Neither was formalwear, which was not a big deal until I was asked to a prom. I ended up finding a really gorgeous '30s black satin floor-length gown at a vintage shop but I had no suitable shoes. My thrift store stilettos sort of cheesed out the look. My mom was pretty appalled that I was going to wear a second-hand dress but she did offer to take me to Ala Moana to look for shoes. I was assuming I would end up with dyed-to-match satin pumps but my mom took me to Carol & Mary and bought me my very first pair of designer shoes. Colorblocked red and black slingback kitten heels by Yves Saint Laurent. They cost $145 but mom assured me they were timeless.

Almost thirty years later and I have to agree, they've aged well. It's hard to admit I'm old enough to see things come back into style but these actually look pretty current for Fall 2012. And maybe they'll work when Roo gets asked to prom. Some splurges are worth it.

What have you splurged on?

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Live A Little - High Tea (No Boys Allowed!)

I didn't watch the royal wedding and I'm not all that crazy about dressing up but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to host a High Tea with funny hats while all of our relatives were in town for the 4th of July. What better way to spend time with a houseful of girls?!

The girls had a blast being silly and trying on my mom's formalwear and high heels and Roo's cousins instructed her in the fine art of glittery makeup. And we cracked each other up with the fascinator hats and opera ball masks. No boys allowed!

We received the tea set and party supplies courtesy of MomSelect as part of their MommyParties program. Also several boxes of Cadbury Ice Cream Bars in different flavors. (My personal favorite was the Chocolate Almond but Roo preferred the Double Chocolate.) In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and the WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that we received the hats, tea set and ice cream bars shown to facilitate this review. No compensation was provided and all opinions are, as usual, entirely my own.

I think we're going to have to make this a regular event at our family reunions- kick all the boys out (admittedly not hard to do when there are golf courses around) and have a tea party. I might have to adapt it to regular girlfriend get-togethers, too. Make everyone wear something ridiculous. It definitely lightens the mood!

Share your Live a Little suggestions with the Skimbaco every Monday by adding the link to your Live a Little blog post in the InLinkz widget below. Rules: Link either to Skimbacolifestyle.com OR grab the InLinkz code for your blog post – or do both! If you post the widget in your blog post, please add the rules as well.