Top Posts of 2017

One of my favorite parts of the New Year is that it is a great time to reflect on the past and make goals for the future.  Today I'm reflecting on the past year by sharing some of my top read blog post written in 2017.  As a lifestyle blogger I have a lot of areas I write about, so here is a breakout of my top farm, family, recipe and Comments for a Cause posts.

Top 3 Farm Posts

1. Reflections of a Lifetime of Farming:  I love that the interview I did of my good friend and neighbor Merlin, in honor of his 80th birthday, turned out to be my top farming post of the year.  It was a lot of fun to reflect on how farming has changed during his lifetime and I'm so happy to have him as a part of our farm family.
2. Ladies Night Out in the Field:  In September I was apart of the inaugural CommonGround Iowa Ladies Night Out in the Field event.  This event brought together 40 women from Central Iowa to talk about food, farming and family, all while having a beautiful dinner party at the Kellie Blair Farm.  The conversations and connections made at this event were awesome and I can't wait to be apart of the 2nd Annual event next year.
3. I'm an #ActualLivingFarmer:  This winter there was a hashtag, #ActualLivingFarmer, that caught my eye and became trending on Twitter.  The hashtag was meant for farmers to share their story of who they are and what they do, as less than 2% of the US Population is a farmer.  Included in this post is my initial tweet and links to several posts that share about my family's farm.

Top 3 Family Posts

1. Clear Lake's Yurts - A Family Bucket List Must!:  This was my overall top read blog post written in 2017 and I'm not surprised.  Immediately after this post was written it was shared hundreds of times on Facebook.  The Yurts in Clear Lake, Iowa are a unique camping option in North Iowa that my family loves going to and can't say enough good things about.
2. Iowa Ice Cream Road Trip:  For the last four years my family and I have been going on an Iowa Ice Cream Road Trip every June in recognition of National Dairy Month.  This year on National Ice Cream Day we shared all of our stops over the last four years and hopefully inspired some others to go out and discover these fun and delicious ice cream shops.
3. 6 Truth About Being a Mom of 4 Kids:  This was a fun post I wrote about life as a Mom with four young children.  It was fun to share about how life and my parenting style has changed through the years and as we have added more kids to our family.  Being a Mom is something I love and am very proud of.

Top 3 Recipe Posts

1. Rum Logs:  My top recipe post was a family favorite that I shared during Christmas Cookies Week earlier this month.  This recipe was handed down from my Great Grandma, who I loved and admired and was lucky enough to have as a part of my life for over 20 years.  Rum Logs are a light and slightly sweet cookie that will melt in your mouth and that are a perfect compliment to a glass of Egg Nog!
2. Easy Pecan Sticky Buns:  This is one of my go to recipes that I love to make when we have family and friends over for breakfast and brunch.  It is easy to make, a hit with all ages and you've got to check out what the secret ingredient is that make these rolls extra sweet!
3. Apple Oatmeal Coffee Mug Cake:  This recipe was shared during this year's Apple Week and is a perfect recipe when you want to indulge a little.  I love making this Mug Cake anytime of the day - breakfast, snack or as an evening dessert.

Top 3 Comments for a Cause Posts

1. Ashland Community Foundation Fire Relief Fund:  This Spring there were some devastating wildfires that affected ranchers in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado.  During April I raised awareness and donated to one of the hardest hit areas.  The damage and losses from their wildfires were horrible, but the outpouring of support from farmers from across the nation was amazing.
2. Houston Food Bank:  My heart hurt for everyone that was affected by the Hurricanes at the end of the summer, including Hurricane Harvey which hit the Houston, Texas area hard.  As a way to help those affected, I donated money to the Houston Food Bank's Harvey Disaster Relief fund.  I also joined up with some other food bloggers to share some Texas inspired recipes to help raise awareness for relief needs and efforts.
3. Franklin County Freedom Rock:  My home county is getting ready for our Freedom Rock to get finished as part of the 99 County Freedom Rock Tour.  This winter the official rock was moved to it's final home and the rock is scheduled to get painted in 2018.  My family even went on a mini-tour of other area county Freedom Rocks to get excited for ours to get finished!

What was your favorite post from 2017?  Did you discover any new post from the top 2017 lists?   Be sure to check out my BestNine Instagram photo too!  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

2014 Top Blog Posts

Happy New Year's Eve!  I thought today would be a great day to reflect on the past year by sharing my top blog posts from 2014.  It is fun to see what posts drew the most readers.  It also helps me see what my readers enjoy the most.  So without further ado, here are my top 10 posts from 2014:

1.  5 Easy Ways To Teach Your Toddler Their ABCs and 123s - The response I have received from this post has been unbelievable.  I've had a lot of people find this post through Pinterest.  I love having "learning time" at home with my kids and I hope other parents have enjoyed these simple ideas on how to teach their kids the alphabet and numbers.

2.  Spreading the Love of Reading - This post is about my participation in World Book Night.  This was a great program that I have been apart of the last three years, that through thousands of volunteers, passed out over a million and half books throughout the United States.  Sadly, given financial and time commitment from publishers, writers, givers, booksellers, printers, distributors, shippers, etc. the program will no longer be operational in 2015.  It is disappointing to see such a unique program go away that emphasized spreading the love of reading to non-readers.

3.  June Comments for a Cause - La Luz Hispana - This year I started a Comments for a Cause program on my blog and I'm happy to say that one of my posts talking about Comments for a Cause made the Top 10.  I loved how my local community rallied around supporting my Comments for a Cause effort for La Luz Hispana.  June was my biggest month for comments this year.

4.  Mommy Monday - Nuby Mommy Review: Oral Care Set - It is fun to see some of my review posts in my top read blog posts of the year.  This Oral Care Set from Nuby is actually one of my favorite products I have received from them.

5. Curious George Birthday Party - I love entertaining and I love to do things for my family, so when my kids have a birthday, let's just say I like to have fun!  This year LP chose Curious George as his birthday theme.  The birthday party was simple and fun and I'm still proud of my Curious George cake I made!

6.  Wordless Wednesday - Signs that Spring FINALLY arrived! - I think it is nice that my readers like the simplicity of a Wordless Wednesday post to make the Top 10 this year.  This post just reminds me how late and long this year's planting season was.

7.  Valentine's Day Meal Plan - Fried Pickles, Greek Steak & Greek Spaghetti, and Chocolate Melting Cake - mmm!  I could go for all of them tonight actually...  I love all the memories and feelings associated with these dishes and am happy to share the recipes for them through this blog post!

8.  Little Free Library Coming to Latimer - One of my favorite projects that I worked on this year was bringing a Little Free Library to my local community.  I love how the entire community rallied around the effort and really has made our Little Free Library space an inviting and welcoming area in downtown.  Thanks to Post Cereal for providing this opportunity to me and my local community.

9.  Family Summer Bucket List - I have enjoyed putting together bucket lists for my family over the last couple of years and sharing them on my blog.  I think my favorite thing we did this year was go on an Iowa Ice Cream Trip throughout the month of June in honor of National Dairy Month!

10.  Something Sweet in Honor of Six Sweet Years of Marriage - In January of 2014 My Farmer and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary, as well as being together for ten years!  In honor of our anniversary I shared my recipe for Chocolate Melting Cake - a cake we fell in love with on our honeymoon and make every year to celebrate our anniversary.




What a great mix of posts from 2014 to make my Top 10 most read posts!  Thank you all for reading along throughout the year.  What was your favorite post from this year?  Is there a post from this year's Top 10 that you missed that you're going to be sure to check out now?  What types of posts would you like to see more of in 2015?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Creating Me Time

I have talked about how this year, one of my goals is to create more "me time" for myself.  I have always been a person with a full plate, and even though I am a stay at home mom, I was finding myself running around way too much from task to task, rather than enjoying the moments - which is one reason why I wanted to be a stay at home mom.  So I decided I needed to slow down to be able to enjoy the moments and the first way I was going to be able to accomplish that was by finding time to slow down personally, or create "me time".

Have you ever had the feeling at the end of the day that you are unsure what you accomplished but you felt busy all day?  I use to think that was just being a Mom, but as I took some time to reflect, I realized that I needed to prioritize my day and include some "me time" for myself.

So what is "me time"?  "Me time" is a time period taken for yourself to enjoy something you like or to relax.  Some examples of my favorite "me time" activities include blogging, drinking a cup of chai tea, participating in a Bible study, reading a good book, going for a walk, and connecting with friends and family.  Whatever you find enjoyable can be your "me time".

But I am too busy to take time for myself?  If you are saying this, then you definitely need to get in some "me time" today.  If I don't make time for myself I get stressed, overwhelmed, and burned out.  And if I am not taking care of myself, then I can't take care of those that depend on me.  Think about it, when you are flying on an airplane, the flight attendant has a safety message that must be given before the flight takes off. The flight attendant states, “Should we experience any problems, an oxygen mask will drop from the ceiling. Please place your oxygen mask on yourself before assisting others.”  We've got to put our oxygen mask on before helping others.  We can't take care of others if we don't first take care of ourselves.  This is hard for many Moms to remember I feel.  For me, "me time" helps take care of myself.  "Me time" helps me to slow down in this fast-paced world and reflect and enjoy life.  "Me time" gives me energy.  I need "me time" so I can take care of my family.

I am thinking about all of this today because I have to admit, this week has been one of those weeks where I have been busy, but unsure with what.  This week was actually a pretty casual and calm week for our family, but now, I can't believe it is already Thursday!  This week would have been the perfect week to have a productive, enjoyable week.  Instead I have wasted it by getting lost in distractions of fatigue, television and making lists that I'm not getting through.  Last night as I was watching "crap TV" (as My Farmer affectionately calls it) as my entire household was asleep, I was making yet another unrealistic task list for today and then stopped myself.  I had been making lists all week but not getting things accomplished.  What was different from this week compared to days or weeks where I did get things accomplished?  The difference - "me time".  I hadn't been getting up early to start my morning off with some breakfast and a time of reflection with my personal Bible study and prayer before the kids woke up.  I hadn't been getting enough fresh air with the kids because I don't like cold, wet, spring days.  I hadn't made anytime to really talk with any family or friends - I had cut short what conversations I had had because I was busy "running around."  So last night, I reminded myself the importance of giving myself some time daily to do the things that make me happy, so then I could in turn, have a good day for not only me but for everyone that depends on me.  Today may not have been perfect, but I'm okay with that.  Today was progress; progress for myself, progress for my family and progress for my commitments.  And progress is something to be happy about.

I hope you all are having a good week and are creating some "me time" for yourselves.  Taking just ten minutes a day for yourself will empower you for the rest of the day.  Remember, it only takes 30 days of consistent practice to create a new habit.  If you skip a day, you begin again at Day 1.

So, Happy Day 1 everyone and remember to Comment for a Cause!  What is your favorite "me time" activity?

Top 13 of 2013

It is always fun to look back and reflect on the year on New Year's Eve, as well as make goals for the future.  I have been blogging for two years now and can't believe the amount of connections and friendships I have made along this journey.  I thought a great way to look back over the year would be to see what my top 13 blog posts from this year were.  So without further ado, here they are:

1. Farming - A Family Tradition
2. So God Made A Farmer
3. Developing Your Pinterest Potential
4. LP's 2nd Birthday Train Party
5. Breakfast Battle Celebrates National Food Check-Out Week
6. A Double Dose of Food
7. What's Your 50?
8. Taking an Inside Look at Animal Agriculture
9. 2013 Family Fall Fun Bucket List
10. Moving Up Monday
11. Only in Iowa...
12. Mommy Monday - Nuby Mommy Review: Fun Drinking Cups
13. Wordless Wednesday: Don't Worry - Be Happy!

I love how this group of posts really show all the aspects of my blog.  It has been a great year and I can't wait for 2014.  Happy New Year and be sure to check out my blog tomorrow for my New Year Goals!

Tractor Time - A Time for Reflection

My tractor and grain cart - where I have "tractor time"

One of my favorite parts of helping with harvest is having "tractor time."  What is tractor time you may ask?  Tractor time is a time to reflect, to pray, to dream.  I'm so thankful that I have this time of reflection daily.  Before I started to be at home full-time, my reflection time happened during my long car rides with my job.  And in college, my reflection time came during my walks to and around campus.  I've always found time to reflect, pray and even dream.  For me, this is an important element to a healthy life, a way to learn, and a part of the process to grow and move forward to the next step.  Do you make time to reflect during the busyness of life?  Here are a couple ways to incorporate your own version of "tractor time" in your life:

• Schedule a time to reflect during your day.  Like I mentioned earlier, I have always found a time during my day to reflect.  Maybe for you it will be while driving home from work, or while you're on a walk, or laying in your bed before you go to sleep.  Whenever and wherever it is, find a time, schedule it even if you need to, that way you can start developing the habit of reserving this time to stop, slow down and review.
• Remove any distractions.  If you think finding a time to reflect is hard, then watch out for this step.  As a Mom of two kids, two and under, I find this challenging, but you really can't have a good deep, heart-provoking reflection time with interruptions in your way.  Turn off your computer, put your phone on silent and find a quiet spot where you won't be disturbed.  Now, I will admit, in a tractor I can't zone out and be unaware of my surroundings and my duties, but at the same time, I do find my time in the tractor to be somewhat quiet.  It's a place where I can't worry about what's next on my to-do list or what needs to be done at the house, because I'm not at the house and I'm gone for so long during the day I don't really have time to work on my to-do list (like blog...).
• Pray and Dream.  After you have made your time to reflect, free from distractions, it is time to pray and then dream.  No matter if you're reflecting about work, about family or about life in general, taking the time to pray and talk to God about your deliberations, your desires, and your praises is important to do daily as well.  And then dreaming is the fun thing you can do to round-out and finish your "tractor time".  I have always enjoyed thinking about and even trying to plan the future.  Now I say that while reminding you about the old saying, "If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans."

I hope you all find time to reflect during your day.  What other steps would you add to encourage others to take the time to reflect?  Where do you have "tractor time"?

To conclude, I have to share this quote that I found when I got home today from the field.  I think it goes so well with this post, as well as encompasses harvest time in general.