New Year. New Goals.

One of my favorite things about New Year's is that it's a perfect time to have a fresh start and set some new goals and habits.  This year I've set some personal and blogging goals that I wanted to share with all of you, because I don't know if any of you are like me, but when I have to be accountable for my goals I work harder on them.

Personal Goals:

• Learn Spanish - When I was in high school I didn't take any foreign language because I thought I'd never need it because I was going into agriculture.  The truth, twelve years later, knowing Spanish wouldn't just help me as a farmer understanding others we do business with, but it'd also help me as a member of my community, as I live in a diversified area.
• Be Financial Savvy - As baby #3 JP should arrive any day, and as I am decreasing my consulting work, and as the farm markets look shaky, 2015 will be the year to stay on top of my family's finances.  One of my roles on the farm and for my family is taking care of all of our financials.  I want to do a better, more timely and better organized job of doing this task.  Things I'm going to do include utilizing our financial software all year long and not just at the end of the year as we are get ready for taxes, and I'm going to monitor our expenses to help create a budget as the year goes on.
• Pray - I would already consider myself a disciplined prayer but in the New Year I just want to refocus what I do and how I do things through my faith, and to receive support and guidance through prayer.  Prayer is an amazing thing and helps you accomplish anything.

Blogging Goals:

• Country Fair Blog Party - I am so excited to join several other blogs this year as a co-host of the monthly Country Fair Blog Party!  I have participated in this blog hop several times over the last year and was excited when the hosts invited me to join them as a co-host.  Each month has a different theme and is a great way to check out new blogs.  And if you blog yourself, a great way for new people to see your posts!
• Become Self-Hosted - I'm ready to step up my blogging game and become self-hosted.  Last year I made some contacts about going self-hosted and now this year I'm planning on actually taking those steps.  I already own my domain of www.cornbeanspigskids.com but have it redirected to my blogspot address.  By becoming self-hosted I have full ownership of my blog and have more freedom to do more with my blog.
• Daily Routine - Now I might not be making the best start by not getting this post out till 11pm... but I'd like to do little, simple, daily tasks in relation to my blog and my social network, rather than having certain days where it seems all my free time seems to go towards blogging.  I enjoy blogging and find it as a personal outlet in a way - why not make it part of my daily routine, rather than every few days.

I am excited!  How about you?  What are you looking forward to the most in 2015?  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!

Why I'll Miss Being Pregnant

This morning I am getting ready for hopefully my last doctor's appointment for our third child JP.  I'm 39.5 weeks pregnant, which is the longest I've ever gone in a pregnancy.  So much for us thinking the baby would come around Christmas...  Now we're wondering if they'll arrive before the New Year!  No matter when JP decides to grace us with his or her presence, one thing for sure is that my days of being pregnant are getting numbered.

Getting ready to go to my doctor appointment today

Call me lucky or fortunate, but I actually don't mind being pregnant and would consider myself a happy pregnant lady.  There are a few things that even make me smile about being pregnant.  So here are the top six (because I couldn't narrow it down to five) things I'll miss about being pregnant:

1. Having an excuse to take a nap during "afternoon quiet time".
2. Being able to pull the pregnancy card during fall harvest and being able to stay in the warm tractor when something needs to be fixed, rather than being outside helping get tools.
3. Having people ask me "how are you feeling" or tell me "you look great".
4. Not having to worry about sucking it in for photos.  Just let whatever baby bump you have be seen!
5. Coming home from doctor appointments and being able to share the latest "Dr. Tanism" from my appointment.  Dr. Thoo Tan, DO, MD is the funniest OB-GYN in North Iowa and always will make you smile.  Plus I appreciate he's a realist and a minimalist.
6. Feeling little flutters and kicks.  I love how you feel so connected to your baby after you can feel them growing inside of you.

For the Moms out there, what was your favorite thing about being pregnant?  And for everyone, when do you think JP will arrive?  Do you think we're going to have a boy or a girl?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Ideas for Holiday Leftovers + Recipe

Today marked the first day that we didn't have any Christmas celebrations or family members at our house for four days.  So I spent the day catching up on laundry, making Christmas thank yous and trying to get back into our normal routine.  Part of my Sunday routine is making my meal plan for the week.  After hosting two family Christmases and having family at our house for three days, needless to say, we have a full fridge of odds and ends of leftovers.  So now the big question is, what to do with all of your leftovers so you don't hear "not this again..." or have to throw any food away.  Here are three simple ideas, plus a recipe that I made tonight!

1. Freeze - This should be a no-brainer but I think it is something people forget about.  If you have a lot of something leftover - freeze it!  I personally froze a half crock-pot's worth of chili and enough pork loin for probably a dozen sandwiches after all of our company left.  This will come in handy after baby #3 JP arrives this winter!
2. Add-ins - Leftover vegetables and meat make for easy and quick additions to eggs for breakfast or inside quesadillas or paninis for dinner.  Today at noon I used leftover cheese from a cheese platter and leftover cubed ham from an appetizer to make some delicious panini melts.  They were perfect and something light to have after eating big meals for the last few days.
3. Repurpose - Lastly, repurpose your leftovers into something new.  There are lots of ideas for repurposing your holiday ham or turkey into casseroles or soups, but don't forget those side dishes.  Tonight I used our leftover mashed potatoes to make a delicious and simple Shepherd's Pie.  I hope you enjoy it just as much as my family did!

Leftover Shepherd's Pie

2 cups leftover mashed potatoes  (Or you make make fresh if you don't have any leftovers - I personally love the Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes recipe.)

1 lb. ground pork or beef

2 Tbsp. flour

2 Tbsp. ketchup

1 cup beef broth

4 cups leftover mixed vegetables (Or you can use a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, thawed.)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, optional

Salt and pepper, to taste

Brown meat in skillet.  Stir in flour and cook for one minute.  Stir in ketchup, followed by beef broth and then vegetables.  Feel free to add a little salt and pepper to taste.  Spoon into casserole dish or 9x9 square baking dish.  Cover with mashed potatoes.  And if you have cheese loving kids like I do, sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes.

What is your favorite thing to do with leftovers?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Holiday Check List - Christmas Week!

It is the Eve before Christmas Eve and I am feeling pretty good, thanks impart to me making my Holiday Check Lists this year, so I've been able to stay on top of things that need to get done for Christmas.  I still have a couple things to do before I turn in for the night but I am pretty much ready for our upcoming full three days of time with family.  Here is my check list for this week, Christmas week:

• Kitchen Schedule (If you are like us, you have Christmas celebrations with different family members each day.  Make sure you layout a schedule for your kitchen so you can be sure to have everything done in time.  Also, be sure to breakout your holiday dishes and serving platters!)
• Clean House (If you are hosting a Christmas get together remember to do things such as setting out towels, bedding, etc. for overnight guests and making sure you have enough hangers in your coat closet for all those extra coats!  If you aren't hosting a Christmas celebration, be sure to still walk through and pick up your house, as a lot of people seem to stop by during the holidays.)
• Celebrate Traditions and Make Memories (Don't forget the reason for the season and to make sure you have everything you need to incorporate new and old traditions into your Christmas celebrations.)

Hopefully you all have a blessed and stress-free Christmas week!  What are you looking forward to the most this week?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

If you are feeling behind, check out my previous week's Holiday Check List for more ideas:

Wordless Wednesday - Cookie Thief

I asked my Facebook fans and Instagram followers how'd they caption this photo from earlier today.  How would you caption it?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

#NorthIowaBloggers Help Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank this Holiday Season

In November, the North Iowa Bloggers teamed together to gather donations and food to help two local food banks, the Franklin County Food Pantry in Hampton and the Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank in Mason City.  And luckily for me I was able to join a few other North Iowa Bloggers a week and a half ago to drop off those donations.

Beth Ann from It's Just Life, Donna from DonnaHup.com, myself,
Jeni from Jeni Eats and Amy from Modern Rural Living dropping off our donation

Thanks to your comments on my blog and several others, as well as actual food donations, we were able to donate 235 pounds of food off at the Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank in Mason City!

After we got everything finalized with our donation, Ozzie Ohl, volunteer at the Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank, gave us a tour of the new facility and demonstrated how it operated.  The Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank is volunteer ran and currently has around 125 volunteers, making it the largest volunteer ran food bank served by the Food Bank of Iowa.  Ozzie's focus at the Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank is to help tell the facility's story to the general public and to help with special events and campaigns in the community.  In the three short years since he started being a volunteer he has worked in the order filling room, gone on food pickups and assisted people at the counter.

Ozzie Ohl demonstrating how the Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank
works for North Iowa families

The Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank is an emergency food bank, so families can visit the facility once a month, where they will receive the equivalent of a four day ration.  In the picture above you can see Ozzie talking about some of the different food areas.  Above each section is a chart that tells how many items a family with different amount of members can receive.  For example, in the non-edible section that Ozzie is currently pointing to a family of one receives three non-edible items, family of two receives four, family of three receives five items, etc.  

Volunteers stocking fresh produce at Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank

Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank collects food through donations and purchases food and non-essentials through monetary donations.  Currently over 80% of the Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank goes toward food acquisition, while the rest goes towards building costs.  The majority of the food they purchase from the Food Bank of Iowa since they are able to buy it for 14 cents a pound.  They also buy food and non-perishable items from local grocery stores.  Hy-Vee East donates their day old bread and baked good to the food bank, and they partner with Community Kitchen bi-weekly receiving collections from Target and Wal-Mart through their partnership with Feeding America.  In the end, Ozzie told us that the food bank simply couldn't exist without the generosity of North Iowans.  In 2013, Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank served 17,580 people.  At the end of November this year, the total was 19,533 and officials expect to serve at least 1,500 in December, creating a record year in the number of people served.

If you'd like some ideas on how to help your local food bank this holiday season, check out my Food Bank Guide.  How do you help your local food bank during the holidays?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!