Pigs are not food....
Two months ago, my youngest child announced to us that she is now a vegetarian.
This happened to coincide with her age appropriate realization that pork = pig and beef = cow.
And my girl loves pigs. Like really loves them. Like, has a girl gang with a couple of friends and they call each other, Space Piggy 1, Space Piggy 2, and SpacePiggy 3. AND she spawns and collects all the pigs in Minecraft, AND she has created a whole story world around a family of little pigs that she refers to as Pigibo Jr. and family.
Oh, and we also finished reading Charlotte's Web and watching the movie right before all of this went down.
It's not hard to see that Pigs are special to my girl.
Yes, she even has a pig hat.
And because I am that parent who believes my kids are actual people, allowed to have their own opinions and thoughts and desires, I respect her wishes in this regard. We have been making the necessary changes to our meal planning and grocery shopping since her big announcement and so far all is going quite smoothly.
To be completely honest, this hasn't been much of a big deal really. As a family, we've been slowly moving away from eating red meat this past year, and we only eat pork sourced from local, free-range, organic farmers.
AND the thing making my life even easier is our fabulous grocery delivery service, SPUD.ca. They have a handy, dandy section dedicated to simple meal packs and boxes with plenty of vegan and vegetarian options for our family of four.
I've been letting Seven help me with the weekly "shopping" and she's been picking out one meal pack a week, based on her preferences. We've had a lovely Chickpea and Quinoa salad (which was a miracle, because up until now she had refused to eat both of these things!), our usual tofu stir-fry, and last week she wanted to have the Vegan Finger Food meal.
Gardein makes some wonderful vegan options and we've been sampling a lot of them lately in our weekly SPUD order. The Crispy Tenders are a hit with both the vegetarian and the meatatarians in my house, and the Alexia Sweet Potato Fries have been a fave for a while now.
Also, this simple meal is a great one on those hot days. It's quick, easy, and the fresh crisp veggies quench both thirst and hunger. I swear my kids could eat a whole basket of these sweet local grape tomatoes in one sitting!
We do our family meal planning and Spud shopping on Sundays, and I can't wait to see what she is going to choose for us to try next week.
Check out all the different Meal Packs Spud has to offer (not all are vegetarian) and if you decide to give them a try, remember to use the code: CREDM-CHINAA to get $20 off your first order!
*I am a local Spud Ambassador and this post is brought to you by the lovely folks at Spud.ca.
All opinions are my own and those of my picky little eaters!*
Cheers,
N~
Feminist Fare Friday: The Christmas Gift Guide Edition
Everyone's got one.
A Christmas Gift Guide that is.
I've got a few ideas that I hope you'll like, and that may make that someone special on your list very, very happy this coming Christmas morning.
So, without further ado, I am going to don my helper shopping elf hat, put on my sparkly shoes and get to it!
(Disclaimer: I have not received compensation for any of these recommendations, they are simply products/people/companies that I think are awesome.)
1. CanvasPop
CanvasPop is a Canadian company that will take any digital file (Instagram, Facebook photos, or from your camera/computer file) and make it into a brilliant piece of artwork for your walls. Get those great shots off your camera and Instagram feeds and display them on your walls. You can make a collage, do a tryptich of canvases, or think big and do a whole gallery wall or series of canvases. They even include the hanging hardware and those little bumper thingies with all of their canvases (it's the little things that make me such a fan). I have one huge wall in our Natural Urban Home that will soon be covered with 6 new canvases and I can't wait to see how it is going to look when they are all hung! And did I mention that their customer service is beyond exceptional? I had already received 3 of the canvases and while the quality of the printing and craftsmanship was excellent, I wasn't 100% satisfied with the size that I had ordered. I called them to see what could be done and within minutes, I had new proofs to approve, a small charge to my Paypal account and new canvases being reprinted for me, exactly as I want them!
If you use this link to order from CanvasPop you'll get a sweet little discount too!
2. Lostmy.Name
For the past few weeks I have been seeing the Facebook ads for this company popping up all over my timeline. I eventually clicked on it one day and it took me to the website where I discovered these super sweet personalized story books.
I love that this is a company of dads (and an uncle), that they started this as a DIY project, and that they are making magic and memories for kids all over the world. I have ordered one for my daughter and one for my nephew and can't wait to see the look on their faces when they realize that the books are about them! And bonus feature for bilingual kids, you can also order the books in French, Spanish and Dutch. You've still got a few days to get your order in for Christmas as the cut-off date is December 9th.
I have been a fan of this local #YEG company for years. They are one of the main reasons I visit our downtown Farmer's Market so often in the summer and because of those visits, The Consort and I have a nice little collection of their wearable art in our wardrobes. The two talented women behind Salgado Fenwick make t-shirts, sweatshirts, leggings and pillows featuring their original hand-drawn artwork. Everything is silkscreened in small batches right here in Edmonton, Alberta and sold online, at craft fairs, and at their newly opened brick and mortar store as well. I love that each season they create a new and limited edition collection and I know that I'll continue to add to ours as the years go by! Local, wearable, art - the trifecta of reasons to shop with them!
I call her Zena, eagle warrior.
Last weekend I attended the Royal Bison Art & Craft Fair and stumbled upon these soaps. The Consort is a notoriously hard man to buy for, as he is always saying things like, "I don't need anything" and "Don't worry about me"... Why doesn't he understand that I LIKE TO GIVE GIFTS! Anywho.... the one thing he does like is soap, nice smelling, manly soap. And you can't get any more manly then these BROBRICKS. With names like Cedar & Beer, Barber Shop, and Leather Scrub and a tag line that says "Smack the Filth Off!", you really can't go wrong putting a few of these in your man-dude's stocking this year!
BroBrick Soaps
5. One Red Bead
My friend Mandy is an inspiration to me and many others as well. She is also one of the driving forces behind the India Nepal Yoga Project, a grassroots organization that is working to heal the wounds of trafficked girls and women in that part of the world. One of the missions of the INYP is to assist in the creation of sustainable means for the financial future of those effected by trafficking and HIV/AIDS. On her most recent trip in Nepal, Mandy had a dream one night about one red balloon. The next day, after some brainstorming with the INYP group and the residents of an HIV/Aids hospice, they came up with the idea that blossomed into ONE RED BEAD.
One Red Bead
The red tibetan healing bead is crafted from yak bone and is representative of the precious girl, affected by the devastation that is human trafficking and HIV/AIDS. Not only do the women feel a sense of pride and purpose in hand-crafting these wonderful bracelets, but the bracelet itself offers awareness, hope and support. 100% of the profit from the sale of these bracelets goes directly to help those living with HIV/AIDS and girls rescued from trafficking. This is the kind of giving that truly makes Christmas wonderful. Give a beautiful gift to someone you love and give the gift of hope to a girl or woman a world away. Order HERE.
There you have it folks.
The 2014 Stay at Home Feminist Christmas Gift Guide!
Now, go get that shopping done so that everything arrives in time.
Merry, Happy!
Natasha*
how to make grocery shopping fun.
This post is brought to you by SPUD.CA
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When my kids were babies, I used to love grocery shopping. It was one of the things that got me (and my babies) out of the house and into pants other than ones of the yoga variety and the world of grown ups, and in line at the in-store coffee shop. And, I'll admit it, accomplishing this feat with babies in tow, used to make me feel like a super woman.
And then there were the times, when The Consort and I would finally get the babies to sleep and I would do the grocery shopping after 9 PM. I tell you, that is like the Golden Hour of grocery shopping. Barely anyone around, shelves getting restocked for the next day and again, the in-store coffee shop. I would leisurely walk every single aisle of the store, sipping my frothy latte, looking at new products, reading all the labels and squeezing all the melons. The soft hum of the store freezers was the background music to this idyllic scene and I swear customer service is at an all-time high at that hour as well.
Fast forward a few years and many more pounds of children to cart around and it gets a bit more complicated. Grocery shopping with toddlers and preschoolers involves multiple snacks, an iPad, the must-bring-toy-of-the-day and various other things that there is no room for in the cart. And yet, it can be done, with similar Super Woman-y feelings about it. You can luck out and get the ginormous cart that looks like a giant green toy car and this will entertain and contain the little buggers while you "drive" them around, picking up your cargo load of Bear Paws, mini carrots and cheese strings, so that you'll be stocked up on snacks for the next shopping trip. And of course, evening grocery shopping is still an option. A peaceful, get me out of the house, BY MYSELF, with no one touching me, hour or more of the weirdest self-care ever!
And now? Now I don't like the grocery shopping so much. And I know that this is going to come off as very #firstworldproblem-y, but it is what it is. Grocery shoping is just not as much fun anymore. Or, perhaps, I have simply figured out much better ways to administer my self-care, that I can now see through the facade that grocery shopping provided in those early, half-delirious with sleep-deprivation years. Oh sure, I can still handle the big Costco trip once a month to get all the things that cost too much or are not available elsewhere, but the weekly stuff? With all the activities that make up our days now between school, work and extracurricular stuff, at this point, I just want someone else to do the groceries thing.
Enter SPUD.ca.
Sustainable Produce Urban Delivery (SPUD) opened it's doors in Edmonton in September, 2014 and is delivering local and organic groceries to doorsteps throughout the city. Conveniently coinciding with the arrival of chillier temperatures and the closures of the summer farmers’ markets, the warehouse is now operating as the fourth SPUD office in Western Canada, enabling Edmontonians to stay connected to local producers and farmers, as well as the best in organic and sustainable groceries, all year long.
With over 1800 items including meat, dairy, grocery, produce, health, home and beauty, in SPUD’s online catalogue, diversity and convenience are what sets it apart. Ordering groceries from SPUD comes free of contracts or commitments, has a lower minimum order and later order cutoff time than other services, and does not require deposits on delivery boxes/bins.
A few weeks ago, we received a couple of boxes from SPUD delivered right to our front door. Eggs, bread, fresh organic apples and a great salad. All things that we needed and that I didn't have to leave the house to go get. The cute little pumpkin was a nice touch too and the kids loved it the most and proceeded to decorate it for our Halloween centrepiece.
Our fridge is getting a little low on a few things this week, it's cold outside, and I have a lot of writing to do to catch up on my missed days for #nablopomo. Time for shopping is just not in the cards for me this week, so I am going to be putting in my first official order. If you think you want to give it a try too, use the following promo code to receive $40 worth of groceries when you spend $20. Feel free to share it with friends too - the promo code is: EDMSAVE and it is good until November 30th.
And with that my friends, grocery shopping is fun again!
Thanks again to SPUD for the great intro to their service and the yummy produce - although I am still trying to figure out what to do with the beets!
Cheers,
natasha~
Why 50 Shades is good for you.
I caved.
BIG TIME.
I had heard about it a few months ago, but didn't really buy into the hype.
I mean, it's not like I was a stranger to erotic fiction. I was reading The Story of O and Ann Rice's (writing as Ann Rampling) Sleeping Beauty Trilogy way before women all over North America started googling BDSM and realizing that a full bladder equals a bloody amazing orgasm!
So, YES. I have now read all three of the Shades of Grey books and I am not ashamed to say that I thoroughly devoured and enjoyed all of them.
Today I read a post on the Yummy Mummy Club site by Kat Armstrong, their new Celebritease writer in which she ponders this "mommy porn" phenomenon...
"But there's something about this book.... that keeps drawing women in, but I completely don't get it. I don't understand how poorly written erotic fiction is turning so many of you on in a major way. I don't understand how you're not embarrassed by seeing every other mum wandering around with a copy of this or the other two books in the series. I don't understand why you don't just watch porn.
I just do not understand the appeal."
So I thought I would enlighten her and a few others out there on why I think Ms. James and her irresistible characters have enthralled a whole section of the population.
My first point is a direct answer to her "Why don't you just watch porn?" statement.
Because we are women. Plain and simple really. For most of us, sex, fantasy, romanticism, erotica, and all of that... it happens in our minds. I realize that this is a generalization, but one that I am fairly confident about. I guarantee you that if my mind is aroused, anticipating what is going to happen, seeing the whole scene in the safe and private screening room that is my imagination, then I am pretty much a sure thing. Whereas watching a perfectly shaved, busty blonde, doing her faked version of a mind-blowing orgasm on the screen of my laptop via YouPorn, meh... it seems to me that this takes all the fun out of it! {Not that I have ever done this of course}. I am no expert on this, but I am pretty sure that for most women our biggest erogenous zone is our mind!
We are not guys. Most women are not hard-wired for sex at any minute the way guys are. Need to test this? Try a little experiment for me...
If you are sitting beside your significant other and reading this right now, stop reading. Tell him you want to have sex RIGHT NOW. It's OK. I will wait till you get back.
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See, they can't really say no and can be ready in an instant. Whereas women need more of a warm up. We need to stretch before we work out! And if reading a few chapters of Christian and Anastasia's latest antics in the playroom serve as a good stretch for your imagination and this is going to make you more ready and willing for a good romp, then I say go for it. You wouldn't want to pull a muscle or something now would you?
What exactly is the appeal of the Christian/Anasatasia relationship and why do we care?
Okay. Now most of this is just my theory, so don't shoot me if you don't agree. Let's just think of this as Book Club and we are having a discussion about the themes in the book. So here goes...
We all want to be Ana. Smart, sassy, young, pretty, perky boobs (oh, to have perky boobs again!!) and her whole life ahead of her. I don't have these statistics, but I would take a guess that the majority of women reading 50 Shades are not 22-year-old college graduates. They are 35-50 year old women who have kids and careers and husbands and mortgages and car pools and PTA meetings and probably can't remember if they actually had a shower today or not. We escape into Ana for a time and get to pretend that we are all that she is and none of the other stuff. This is not a bad thing and being able to feel what the protagonist is feeling is in my opinion, one of the hallmarks of a good read.
And we all want Christian. I don't care who you are, you can be the hard-core feminist or the devoted housewife (or both really), but no woman among us can resist the tortured soul. It is that ever-present romantic notion that love will conquer all. In 50 Shades, that love just happens to be peppered with a rather decadent dose of what Ana so aptly called "kinky fuckery". And really, who couldn't use a little bit more of that in their love lives?
That is really it on the surface, we all want to be her, we all want to be taken care of by him (in ALL ways) and we all want to FIX him. To be perfectly honest, I am still mulling over the Christian/Ana dynamic and have a few more thoughts on it. I think it could be further delved into and discussed as it applies to a lot of relationship issues, especially those of control, insecurity and trust... food for thought for a future post maybe.
It really is just a love story. And who doesn't root for the girl to get the boy in the end and for everyone to live happily ever after?
The third point I want to make is about the writing itself.
Now I haven't made a point to read a lot of different reviews about the books themselves, but suffice it to say that the general consensus is that Ms. James' writing is not that great.
Hmmm.... maybe my tastes are not that sophisticated, because I didn't think it was that bad for a first time author. Was it a particularly intricate read? No, it was not. Did I start to roll my eyes a bit at the constant references to Ana's 'Inner Goddess' and 'Subconscious' as if they were characters in the story? Yes, that got a bit tired. But all in all, I didn't put down the book at any time and say to myself, "Oh my god, this writing is atrocious, I can't read anymore of this!"
I would like to say this though. 50 Shades was originally written as fan fiction based on the Twilight series. Twilight, the series written about a high school student and a bunch of vampires that has been read by moms the world over. The Hunger Games trilogy is another young adult series written for teenagers about teenagers forced to fight for the pleasure of others. All of these books are written for a young adult audience, and yet here we are all reading them and we are FAR from the young adult phase of our lives.
Why is this?
Well, I have one theory. I don't know about you, but for the last five and a half years, I have read A LOT of books. Books that rhyme, books that make no sense, books that have farting dogs, and bats that live with birds, and birds wanting to drive buses and dinosaurs paying hockey and silly cats who think they are dogs. I have read books over and over and over again, to the point that I can recite them now without even looking at the pages. Because that is what you do when you have kids, you read to them, you let them use their imaginations and see the words and pictures from their books come alive right in front of them and through you.
And if your first years of parenthood have been anything like mine, you rarely have time to delve into a really good book that is just for you, let alone finish one! So, in comes some YA (young adult) fiction. Are these books easy to read? Yes, they are. Do they take you away and give you an escape from the hum-drum of diapers and midnight feedings and potty training? They sure do. This is not a bad thing Mamas. If reading a book, any book that has more words than pictures in it, and one that can give you a half an hour or if you are really lucky, an hour to yourself, I say go for it. Who cares if it was written for a 17-year-old. If you really think about it, some of the greatest books in history are considered young adult fiction. Consider The Catcher in the Rye, The Outsiders, To Kill a Mockingbird and Great Expectations, just to name a few.
{Disclaimer - the '50 Shades' books are NOT for anyone under the age of 25 in my opinion!}
Now back to 50 Shades of Grey for my final point to explain the appeal.
I was at a dinner party a few weeks ago and the conversation turned to the books. My friend's husband was arguing the 'why don't you just watch porn' angle and also saying that the books where stupid because it is not like all these housewives and moms where going to go out and try all the BDSM stuff that is in the book, so what is the point.
I bit my tongue that night and did not say much in mixed company, but here is the point. Having kids and careers and busy lives sometimes makes for nights when it's an effort just to get to bed at the same time, let alone be awake enough for some sexy time. Add in co-sleeping, night-time parenting and the fear of scarring your children forever if they walk in on you getting busy, well, the time for spontaneity in your sex life often goes out the window and finding and turning on your libido can end up last on your very long to-do list. If reading some erotic fiction gets your blood boiling and lights a fire in the otherwise dry twigs that constitute your loins these days, then READ ON MAMAS!! I am not saying you have to go and get yourself all trussed up on a wheel and whipped with a riding crop, but a blindfold and a few silk scarves could do wonders for any bedroom experience... It is your imagination ladies, spurred on by a few words on paper! Use this and get it on again with those hot men you made babies with and once upon a time couldn't keep your hands off of!!
All I have to say is this...
Don't knock it till you try it {or in this case read it} folks!
You and very likely your partner too will be glad that you did!
Laters baby,
;)
N~
My week with Big Betty: Review of the King Ranch Ford F-150
It was bound to happen. I am a born and bred, never lived anywhere else Alberta Girl.
I like {free-range, organic} beef and pork products, I enjoy a good rodeo every now and then and the thought of a man in a cowboy hat, on a horse, in a pair of tight Wrangler jeans does hold a certain raw appeal for me....
Hmmmm.
Sorry, what was I saying?
Oh yes!
So, really, it was only a matter of time before I found myself behind the wheel of something like...
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THIS!!
Meet Big Betty. Also known as the 2012 King Ranch F-150 Ford Pick-up Truck.
Now before you get all, "Um? Helloooo, Ms. Natural Urban Mama, what the heck are you doing reviewing a HUGE truck when you live in the middle of the Big City and you claim to be all about the environment?", you have to know that I chose to review this vehicle for a few different reasons.
- I have never driven a truck before and I thought it would be fun.
- This particular truck has Ford's innovative EcoBoost™ engine and I wanted to see if it really is all that and a bag of chips.
- I have never really understood the appeal of a really big pick-up truck and wanted to get a feel for it first hand.
So what is the NUM verdict on Big Betty?
When I first pulled out of the lot with her and into traffic, my first thought was, "So this is what it must feel like to be a Tyrannosaurus Rex." BIGGER than anything else around you and suddenly overcome with an overwhelming desire to eat a big ol' piece of meat!
I fully admit that for that first day I was really nervous driving around in the biggest vehicle I have ever been in. But soon enough, the incredible luxury that is the King Ranch's interior and Ford's uncanny attention to detail just kind of put me at ease and if not for the fact that I was a full meter above most other vehicles on the road, I would have forgotten that I was indeed in a TRUCK!
Let's start with the interior.
The King Ranch is a SuperCrew model, which essentially means ROOMY! I am absolutely positive that you can fit 5 six-foot plus full-grown men in this truck without one of them complaining about lack of head or leg room. It also means that you can fit two preschoolers and their car seats in the back seat and they are spaced far enough apart to keep their hands completely to themselves and their little kicking feet and dirty shoes from hitting the back of the front seats too (ask my kids, this is my big car pet peeve)!
Ford really did not skimp on the luxury in this one. There is leather everywhere in this truck! The seats, the centre console, the knob on the floor shifter and yes, even the steering wheel. Add to that the stylish wood grain interior trim accents and Big Betty is one handsome lady! Right down to the fancy King Ranch logo tastefully embossed just about everywhere you can think of. And although we did not have a need for it, the one-touch 60/40 rear seats fold up to reveal a fully flat load floor for whatever you need to haul INSIDE your truck!
Another great thing about Big Betty, it that you don't have to be a 6 foot tall man to fit comfortably in the driver's seat. She has a power tilt and telescoping steering wheel, power-adjustable pedals and of course 10-way power-adjustable driver and passenger seats. And these seats can be both heated and cooled! Little ol' 5 foot 3 and 3/4 inch me found a very comfy driver setting and Big Betty memorized it for our week together.
The King Ranch of course comes standard with the Ford's voice-activated SYNC® and Navigation systems and the one essential feature that I would have been lost without, the back up camera. Seriously, I have no idea how people who drive such huge vehicles do so without one. I would have been a lot less confident in backing up and parking had Big Betty not had one of these, let's be honest, life-saving devices. Which is one of the reasons why the US Department of Transportation keeps pushing for back-up cameras to be mandatory on ALL vehicles in the near future.
In terms of Big Betty's driving performance and capabilities, like I said, she was my first truck experience and so I don't really have a good comparison. The King Ranch is equipped with Ford's 3.5L EcoBoost engine. This is what that means in car tech talk...
This direct-injection twin turbo engine delivers a best-in-class mix of torque, capability and fuel efficiency. It tows more than any competitor (up to 11,300 lbs.), hauls more (up to 3100 lbs.), gives you more torque (420 lb.-ft) and delivers best-in-class 9.0L/100 km hwy fuel efficiency. (exert from the 2012 F-150 Brochure)
And with a 136 L fuel tank what this really means is that you can tow and haul a buttload of stuff for a really LONG road trip. Like 1400 kilometers long! So you know, when you get a whim, you can drive from Edmonton to Whitehorse on one tank of gas.
I mainly drove Big Betty around the city and took her on one little road trip to my sister's place an hour outside of the city and managed to get a respectable 15.8L/100Km out of her. I guess this is pretty good, but again, I have not driven any of the other trucks in the same class to give a fair and full comparison. I did like that I could see just how fuel-efficient I was being right there on my driver's console though, this made the, "Oh My God, I am driving a gas-guzzling beast!" feelings a little bit less front and centre.
In terms of hauling and towing and such, well, I can tell you that I do see the appeal of having a truck. You can make as many trips to IKEA as you like and never have to wonder if those damn boxes are going to fit in your car! Never again do you have to call your one friend who actually has a truck and beg him or her to help you pick up something REALLY big! And as you can see, the pickup box was a hit with the littles! And yes, it comes with what I learned from one of my contractors is affectionately called the "sissy step", or as I like to call it, damn smart thinking on Ford's part! The tailgate step along with side box steps make managing your cargo that much easier from all angles.
In the end, we were all kind of sad to say good-bye to Big Betty. The kids LOVED her and even my completely citified husband was showing her off to anyone who came by for a visit. She was their favourite review so far and yes, I will admit that it was kind of fun to drive it up to my parent's place and see the look of envy on my dad's face for that split second!
If hauling and towing and being the King of the Ranch is what you need, and you have $50,ooo.00 to spare, then the King Ranch Ford F-150 might just be the truck for you. For this Natural Urban Mama, I think I will just stick to my small, fuel-efficient, herbivore of a car and leave the T.Rex'ing for the big boys!
Happy Driving Y'all,
Natasha~
Disclaimer: Vehicle was provided to me for one week by Ford for review purposes.
Mama Music. Review & Giveaway: 'The Full Catastrophe'
We have a WINNER!
Zita on May 9, 2012 at 4:43 PMThere is nothing in the world that moves me quite so powerfully as music. I have genres to fit all my moods and get very antsy in ‘silence’. Lately, I’ve been very into lyrics as well- I appreciate a lot of the poetry that’s emerging in new indie music.
Great review, N!
Congratulations Zita! An email will be sent to you shortly.
Thank you to everyone for entering!
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I have a 3.5-year-old and a 5 year old. I know all the words to the Hello song, the Goodbye song, the Clean-up song, the Ridin' in the Car song, the Playin' in the Kitchen song, the Sleepyhead song and countless more.
The 6 CD-changer in my car has been overtaken by all of the kid's music class CDs, not to mention what is on my iPod, and I am told within 30 seconds of getting into the vehicle which selection they want that day.
This is really not a bad thing. My kids have an appreciation for music and we try to expose them to lots of different genres. They love to sing and make up songs of their own, although I am pretty sure that my poor girl has inherited my lack of anything remotely resembling singing on key and Little C is really so much more of a dancer than a singer. They love 'their' music and I like to keep car rides stress-free and happy!
The one downside to all of this is that I rarely get to listen to music that I want to in the car and often after I drop them off at playschool, there I am a half an hour later humming along to Trot Ol' Joe once again.
Oh how far I have strayed...
I used to be a music junkie! Live bands, concerts, the beer soaked dance floor at the Sidetrack Cafe (man, I miss that place!), Lilith Fair, Edge Fest (is that still around?) and of course the creme de la creme in my town, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival.
You see, I LOVE music. All kinds of music. Some people love to dance, some love to sing, and then there is MOI. I can do neither of these things very well (I used to be able to dance, but then along came my friend JRA), and so I listen. I listen with all of my heart and soul and body. I feel music, I appreciate the artistry that exists in it and in true musicians and music moves me to my core.
So when someone (and by someone, I mean someone really, really cool) emails me one day and asks me if I want to review an advance copy of a CD for a great band they are working with, I immediately say YES!
Because this Mama needs some grown-up music in her life!
And then I listen to said CD and am kind of blown away. Because it is like this amazing band has reached inside this Natural Urban Mama's head and they are SINGING my thoughts!
So without further ado...
I give you.
Nerissa and Katryna Nields.
Photo Credit: Kristin McCue
This sister indie-folk rock duo have been at this music gig for the past 20 years. They have recorded 15 albums, written three books, have a thriving children's music education empire and their own DVD. And they balance all of this precariously while being wives and mothers themselves.
Their sixteenth album is called 'The Full Catastrophe' and it is a testament to every mother's daily joys and struggles. It is funny, poignant, catchy, ethereal and I am thoroughly enjoying it (In fact, I am listening to it right now!). In addition to the melody of a song, what I truly appreciate is the song-writing and lyrics. And the Nields sisters nail it on every song on the CD.
I have listened to the full CD over and over and every time I hear these lyrics from Track 11: 'More than Enough', I tear up. It is THAT good!
"Happily ever after, two kids crawling on the floor
All of our cups are overflowing
Somebody still wants to pour
I get that it’s not about comfort and ease
But uniting when the going gets rough
And to spread it around, to our world, to our town
That's how you get more than enough
I’ll always have more than enough
We’ll always have more than enough."
Like I said, these ladies have literally taken words and feelings about all kinds of aspects of my life as a wife and mother (and likely yours too) and put them brilliantly into song. You will get hooked and want to hear more, I guarantee it!
Here is what the sisters have to say about their newest work;
This CD is an offering to everyone who struggles to balance a home life—with or without kids or partner—with an artistic life, which is to say a work life, for all who labor honorably may choose to do so artistically. The older we get, the more precious both seem to us. Nerissa says, “I could certainly live without friends or family, but I am not sure I would want to. I could let my work go, say goodbye to the muse and my Les Paul, but that would be saying goodbye to joy. We might be happier simplifying our lives, but as Katryna said when we first began this project with the title track, happiness might be overrated. Our cups overfloweth. We choose those cups, and we surrender to the reality that this means many many spills need to be cleaned up.”
And so, in honour of Mother's day coming up and well, because it's nice to pass on great music and give another Mama some grown-up music of her own, I have ONE full copy of the Nields sisters new CD The Full Catastrophe available for a lucky Natural Urban Mamas reader!
All you have to do is comment on this post and tell me what kind of music moves you and why.
And because it's the right thing to do...
Head on over and follow Nerissa and Katryna Nields on Twitter and Facebook too.
I leave you with this wonderful tribute to mothers that the sisters collaborated on for MotherWoman.org! Go get some tissues.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd0LsguSlyE[/youtube]
The Full Catastrophe is available now on iTunes and in stores near you!
The Fine Print:
- Giveaway starts today, May 7th and ends on May 13th.
- Winner will be chosen by Random.org and will be contacted by email.
- I was given a free download of the Nields new CD, The Full Catastophe for review.
- All opinions are my own and I don't lie.
- I also sneak into my kid's snack cupboard and eat Goldfish crackers by the handful!
Good luck Everyone!
Natasha~
My week with Gloria. AKA the 2012 Ford Focus.
A few weeks ago I got to hang out with a new friend for a week. It was a good week, we didn't go anywhere too fantastic, just toodled around town with each other, getting groceries, taking the kids to and from school and hitting up a yoga class or two. Gloria was a good companion to have around. She was smooth, easy-going, and handled herself very well everywhere I took her.
And to top it all off, she has one heck of a snappy style to her.
Check her out!
Yes, Gloria is a car.
She is in fact the 2012 Ford Focus Titanium Hatchback.
When I was first asked if I wanted to drive the Focus, I thought now why would I want to drive such a small car. I have 2 kids. We need WAY more room than that. But then I started to think about it, had a look at some of the specs and features that the Focus has to offer and changed my mind.
I am after all the Natural Urban Mama and I live my life trying to find ways to lower my carbon footprint on our beautiful Mother Earth. What better way than to see how small and fuel-efficient a family of four can go when it comes to a vehicle.
Enter Gloria.
Now in case you are wondering about the naming... well, I name my cars. All of them. Don't you?
In my life I have driven not one, not two, but three Ford vehicles. Blackie, the Ford Taurus that saved my life in a highway roll over in November of 2000, Belle, the Ford Windstar van that moved us into our first house and Blaze, the Ford Escape that brought home my firstborn child from the hospital. Needless to say, Ford has had my back a few times in my life and of all the car companies out there, I have much respect that they weathered the recession far better than the others.
This was not my first time in the new Ford Focus. Back in October of 2011 I attended the Blissdom Canada conference in Toronto, and Ford was one of the main sponsors. While there I was able to check out quite a few of the new technologies and innovations that Ford is incorporating into their line-up of vehicles and I was duly impressed.
Having the opportunity to get to see these technologies and designs up close and personal is definitely a treat and that is kind of how I would describe driving the Ford Focus.
I picked up Gloria at the end of the coldest week of winter. The first thing that hit me was her styling and interior look (and hence her name as I was reminded of the girl penguin from Happy Feet). You can't help but feel like you are stepping in to a sexy little speedster! The contrast stitching and sleek design really do up the cool mom factor don't you think?
The second thing I noticed, that day especially, was the 5-position heated seat! My whole backside was toasty warm within minutes of being in the car. Trust me this is something that comes in very handy on days when it is -32 degrees Celsius outside.
Further notes on the interior of the Focus. Like all new Ford vehicles, the Focus keeps everything you need quite simple and right in front of you. It features the SYNC with MyFordTouch system and voice activated control of the climate controls, audio system and hands-free calling paired with your blue tooth smart phone. While I do like that the SYNC system recognizes my iPhone and uploads my contact list directly, I found it a little fumbly when trying to call someone. There seemed to be a lot of questions that I had to answer before getting to the actual call. I found that I ended up using the touch screen more often to quickly get to the number or contact that I wanted to call. But of course, never when I was actually driving!
For me, the true parental test of Gloria's interior, was the car-seat one. We were unable to fit our Radian XT car seats into the Focus in the rear-facing position and still be able to have people sit comfortably in the front seats. Technically the Focus is outfitted for three car seats in the back seat, but realistically it would be a stretch to do so. Two car seats forward facing with the middle seat-back folded down to reveal the two cup-holders made my two little backseat drivers very happy (it's the simple things people). And I have to say that driving a car, versus a minivan or an SUV, is kind of nice in that they kids are able to easily get in and out of the car all by themselves. You may think this is no big deal, until you are wrangling a toddler and a preschooler in the parking lot at the mall and you have your hands full of bags too. Some independence on their part is a good thing and Gloria provided them with this beautifully!
And while we are talking about shopping, I am sure you are wondering how Gloria stacks up in regards to cargo space. I did do one big grocery shopping trip during our week together and managed to get all the bags packed into the hatch quite nicely. I did not take her to Costco though and I am not sure I could manage to get all of the big items packed into the car, especially if I had the kids with me. This is the reality of a small car and really not that big of one when you really think about it. Just think of the money you'll save because you can't get your multi pack of two-bite brownies and 74 rolls of toilet paper in the car!
In terms of performance and fuel economy, I am not sure there is much out there at this point that competes with the Ford Focus. With a 7.8 L/100km city and 5.5 L/100 km highway fuel economy rating, the Focus can get up to 977 on one tank of gas on the highway! I had Gloria for 6 days, drove her all over the city, used just over half a tank of gas and got 325 kilometers out of her. I was duly impressed.
All her good looks aside, Gloria drives quite nicely too. Natural Urban Dad drives a small car and I like driving it because if feels all zippy and fun. Gloria was a different story. Still a lot of fun, but with way more substance to her! For this minivan driving Mama, driving Gloria felt like I was getting a teeny tiny taste of rally racing. She handled the icy, snowy streets of Edmonton with ease (and thanks to the winter tires that Ford outfitted her with), and I never felt like she was going to lose it on any surface. And the one time I did really push her to show me what she's got, Gloria did not disappoint. She revved her engine, shifted smoothly and gave me one sweet ride!
Ford has incorporated a whole lot of fancy schmancy new technology in the Focus, a lot of which you just don't see in the entry-level car market. Things like electronic power assist steering (EPAS), that helps reduce vehicle pulling/drifting and torque vectoring control, which essentially means "providing stabilizing braking force to an individual drive wheel in a similar way that a skier or board-rider would shift weight to carving edge when turning...". The Focus comes with Ford's coolest new feature, the Active Park Assist. This is an option on most models, but one I highly recommend. It's a bit odd the first time you try it, but time after time, Gloria parallel parked herself perfectly!
Gloria has one final bit of technology that I think is a parent's dream. It is the MyKey feature. This is standard on all Ford vehicles now and allows for parents to set speed and audio limits in the car. I know, I know, this sounds like a HUGE buzz kill for most 17 year olds out there, but as a parent of not one but two future 17 year olds who will want to borrow the car, I am ALL for this feature. With a MyKey programmed key fob, the vehicle's audio system will be muted until seat-belts are fastened, it provides an earlier low-fuel warning and you can also set the upper volume of the audio system. All of it combines to provide a safer driving experience for new drivers and also enhances fuel economy as well.
All in all, my week with the Ford Focus was really quite nice. It lived up to my expectations of what a small car can do and then some. The Focus pricing is very reasonable, starting at $15, 999.00 for the base S model and tops out at just over $30,000.00 for one just like Gloria (Titanium Hatchback with ALL available options).
As for my opinion of it as a family car... If you have one child it is perfect and you really don't need anything bigger. You can easily fit a stroller in the hatch and have plenty of room for 2 other passengers. If you have two children you can still get away with it, but you will be sacrificing room for that fifth passenger. That being said, Natural Urban Dad really liked Gloria as well, and I think if we were in the market for a vehicle to replace his current one, the Ford Focus would be at the top of the list.
Ford as a company continues to impress me on many levels, from their innovative design, commitment to improving fuel economy in all their lines and their use of sustainable materials in their production as well. And in the Spring of 2012 they will start selling the Focus Electric... Seriously folks, it's things like this that get this Natural Urban Mama pretty darn excited and I can't wait to give that one a spin!!
Happy Driving,
Natasha~
**Disclosure: Vehicle was provided by Ford.**
Get that baby ONYA already!!
It is not too often that a BRAND NEW never been made before soft-structured baby carrier comes on the market. No 'fourth generation', no 'II', no 'now with designer fabrics'. I mean brand spanking new! And not only NEW, but GOOD. Like really really good!
That is what happened in September of 2011 at the ABC Kids Expo in Kentucky, with the official launch and release to market of the Onya Baby Carrier.
And babywearers everywhere were itching to get their hands on one to try it out and see for themselves what all the hype was about and what this new carrier had to offer.
I was no exception!
I "met" Diana Coote, the creator of the Onya Baby on Twitter and we started having great babywearing conversations. I immediately loved all the great things she was posting about babywearing and living an active lifestyle with baby!
So, when the carriers finally hit the market after four years of research and development (this fact alone is reason enough to give this carrier and the company BIG props), I asked her if I could have one to review.
She gladly obliged and sent me the 'Cruiser' in Leaf Green/Raw Umber.
- Image Courtesy of Onyababy.
The first thing that hits you when you take your new Onya Baby out of the box is how incredibly well made it is. Your eye is immediately drawn to the padded and contoured waist strap and leg padding for your little one and you just know it is going to be a very comfortable fit even before you put it on. With little details like covering the waist buckle and putting it over on one side versus in the middle and the super cute Mama and Baby Koala logo on the carrier, the esthetics of this carrier are also very appealing.
And then you put it on and get your baby up on your tummy or your back and you are completely blown away!
This is one comfortable baby carrier.
And not only that, as a baby carrier educator I look for certain things in all carriers that I review and the ONYA Baby hits all the major points that I am most concerned with.
- Proper positioning of baby in an upright and tummy-to-tummy (or back carrying) position. CHECK.
- The fabric of the carrier extending from knee to knee and baby sitting in a good flexed and abducted ("M") position. CHECK.
- Good support and just the right amount of padding for the wearer's waist and shoulders, with the option to cross the straps diagonally across your back when front wearing. CHECK.
- The body of the carrier high enough to fully support baby up to the neck/bottom of ear lobes, with an optional sleep hood. CHECK
But wait....
There is more!
Not only is the ONYA Baby a really great and comfortable baby carrier, it also has this ingenious little zippered pocket at the front that once opened reveals the full versatility of this product.
It is a CHAIR for your baby too!
Say WHAT??
Now I know some of you may have done something like this before with your wrap or mei tai carrier. Strapped your carrier to a chair and then fashioned some kind of contraption to safely tie your baby into it, not unlike those very expensive separate chair harnesses one can purchase.
Well, this is exactly what the ONYA Baby does. Strap your ONYA to a chair, unzip that little hidden front pocket and voila! Instant and SAFE seat harness for your little one.
Think about it mamas. You go for a nice walk with baby to your local coffee shop and decide to sit down and enjoy a latte and get a little snack for the two of you. But there are no high chairs. So you take baby out of your carrier and try to drink a hot beverage with them squirming on your lap or have baby eat something without making it look like a 'Category 4' hurricane of cookie crumbs and squished grapes has passed through the place. The whole situation can kind of take the joy out of the whole 'babywearing walk and chillin' with your little one' idea that you had in the first place.
NOT ANYMORE!
With the ONYA baby, you and baby can have your own chairs and you can enjoy your nice chai latte without risk of scalding the top of your child's head and baby can squish as many grapes as he or she wants in the comfort and safety of her own chair on the opposite side of the table!!
The chair option on the ONYA is ideal for the baby who has perfect head control, but can't quite sit on their own in a chair.
I did not have a four to six month old baby on hand, so asked my three-year old to give it a go!
I can see how the ONYA would be very handy to have and be able to 'put' baby somewhere when you are out and need to have your lap to yourself. The only issue I can see with it, is that it is not a 'booster' seat and unless the tables are relatively short, baby would still be quite low and may not be able to reach any food or toys ON the table.
The Onya Baby is a very welcome addition to the soft-structured baby carrier world and I am thrilled to give it a very enthusiastic two thumbs up!! It is a great carrier to transition to when your baby is about 3-4 months (~15 lbs) and it has been tested up to 45 pounds!! I wore my 36 pound three-year old in if very comfortably and wouldn't hesitate to put my 5-year-old in it for a piggy back ride as well.
Diana from Onya Baby posted a great comparison chart of the different Soft-Structured Carriers on her blog this past week and has given me permission to repost it here for you to see how the ONYA stacks up to the other SSCs on the market. You can also go HERE to read her original post and see the rest of the chart.
The Onya Baby Carrier retails for ~ $149.00 and is available at these fine retailers.
Happy Babywearing Everyone!
Natasha~