Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: Nursing a 38 month old

Local Music Tuesday: Little Brave

Little Brave is a localish musician that has played Standpipe Coffeehouse a few times. They will having her back as part of Hidden Village Music Festival. She'll be playing Thursday, March 14th and she is well worthy of a $20 cover but Arch-Nemesis is only asking for $5! Actually for $20, you can get a pass for the while week but spend you money as you like.
If you have missedLittle Brave in the past now is the time to make up for it. Don't miss this show.

Disclaimer: I am not being compensated for this post in anyway, other than avoiding working the door for the Festival. I had to buy my week-long pass :(. Arch-Nemesis is not my friend.

Monday, February 25, 2013

#Mamavation Monday: Weight loss makes me look old

So my only complaint about weighting less is that I am losing weight in my face. Normally people would be very happy to drop their super-sized cheeks (the ones on their face) but I've had huge monster cheeks always. The problem with losing fullness in my face is that my wrinkles are showing! I know I am 33, almost 34, and that I am going to start showing the living I have done. I don't expect to look 16 forever but the wrinkles are bringing me down. I remember a good friend telling me, "gaining 10 lbs is an instant facelift." Now I look like a deflated balloon.

The funny part is of course in my line of work, teacher/librarian, looking a bit older is helpful. I can't tell you how many times people have threaten to send me to detention for walking the hall. People have this image of a librarian as old lady with grey hair so to have a 30-something as a librarian doesn't fit the image and people tend to overlook me as a real librarian. (For the record, sexy young librarian, yep that's me, lots of sex in the stacks. :) ) I stopped coloring my hair when I found out I was pregnant and really grew to like my grey, not that I have much. Now with the wrinkles beginning to show I'm thinking of going under the hood. We'll see.

On Wednesday, I have my interview for entry into a doctorate program in Education. Most EDds are older, 40+. This also gives me pause for coloring my hair. Looking older might not be such a bad thing. But I'm still not a fan of these new wrinkles. Wish me luck for my interview and I hope to announce soon if I'll be working towards becoming Dr. Wheatless Mama.

This post is sponsored by Touch Within Coaching and Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway

Music Monday: Ben Caplan

Guess who is coming to the Hidden Village Music Festival? Yep, Ben Caplan! He'll be in Lufkin at Standpipe Coffeehouse on Wednesday March 13th! Come on people $5 buys you a seat at this fab show and probably a handshake if you get there early or stay late. Seriously no bad seats! Only 5 bucks! Or you can just buy the week long pass for $20! See you there!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Gluten-free, Breastfeeding and the Hidden Village Music Festival

As you all know I am wheatfree and still nursing a 38 month old preschooler. So what does that have to do with the Hidden Village Music Festival?. Simple, you can do both at the festival!

I might talk badly about my arch-nemesis but he really is the best champion for living your life as you need to. So what? That means that despite all of the crap he gives me for being wheat-free, all of the drinks (as best as I can tell) at Standpipe are gluten-free! Unfortunately there are no gluten-free desserts. Sometimes there are some gf chips but no guarantee. Make sure you bring your own gf snacks! That is one area that Standpipe excels at, they won't shoot you any dirty looks for bringing in your own snacks. When you come down for the Festival, bring a $5 spot for a Standpipe (which is so good) and your own Udi's muffin.

For the nursing mamas out there, Standpipe is your place. They are as welcoming as Motherhood but with coffee (decaf if you need it). I think Jailbait would probably drag a person out of the Standpipe before allowing them to talk down to a nursing mom. Cover, no cover, no problem. While I am trying to wean Ravebaby and at this point don't nurse her in public much anymore, Standpipe is one of the places that I know it wouldn't be a problem. Nursing mamas buy your ticket! Piece of advice, buy your baby/toddler/nursling a pair of headphones for the more rocking shows. Ravebaby wears Babybeats.

So in short the Hidden Village Music Festival is for everyone! March 8th - 18th at Standpipe Coffeehouse, Lufkin Tx See you there.

If Birds Could Fly will be playing at Standpipe Coffeehouse on Monday March 12th. Buy your tickets today!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Hannah Miller coming to Lufkin

Watch "New Official Music Video, "Way About Ya" by Hannah Miller" on YouTube

Hannah Miller will be playing at Standpipe Coffeehouse on March 9th as pary of the Hidden Village Music Festival.   Get your tickets today!

Disclaimer:  I have not been compensated for this post in anyway.  I still have to buy my own ticket to the Festival :(


Wordless Wednesday: Sitting at The Factory


Monday, February 18, 2013

#Mamavation Monday: half-marathon or bust

Okay, I'm doing it. Rather than being safe, I am going to push myself. I am going to train for a half-marathon. I know I can do it! I know I can do it. I know I can do it?

I had decided to be safe and just complete the Bridge to 10k. Six weeks and I'll be at 10k but here is the thing, I want to run a marathon. While I know a 10k comes first, having a bigger goal in mind just sits better in my mind. I have to go for the gold!

Really I found this training schedule for the half-marry that made it seem doable. I just ran 10.16 miles this last week so I know I can start this and finish it. Small miles goals that build each week seems very doable to me. I am not setting time goals. I have no illusion or is it delusion that I will be a completive runner. I am running for me time. I am running because I find the run to be a form of meditation. The outside world stays outside while I focus on my breathing and talking to myself into finishing the next mile.

So if you need before 8am, I'll be running instead of sitting on my butt playing online. So my goal is to run a half-marry before my next birthday on May 26th. I am setting a concrete goal with a definite timeline and I have a plan in place to get there. See you at the finish line.

This post is sponsored Dole and Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Local Music Tuesday: Hidden Village Music Festival

If you have not heard then let me share with you! Coming to Lufkin Tx in March:
Hidden Village Music Festival
March 8th - 16th

Featuring musical acts from SXSW!
The festival will be taking place at
Standpipe Coffee House
Tickets:
Daily Show Tickets - $5
Festival Pass - $20
There are only a limited number of tickets available so don't wait to buy at the door!


While not part of the official festival schedule, there will also be one cannot miss show happening at
The Factory
This will be the grand return of Galaxy Express on March 17th! This show is free and you will kick yourself if you don't go. How often does the primer rock band from South Korea play Lufkin, TX? How are you going to beat celebrating St. Patrick's Day with Korean rock stars? You just can't so be there!

Guest Post: #Kivelli Baby #Giveaway from Cluttered Genius

My friend Lydia from Cluttered Genius is giving away some adorable Kivelli Baby jewelry. I don’t know any little girl who would turn down this adorable jewelry. Be sure to enter for the little princess in your life. It sure would look lovely on Ravebaby! Just as an aside, I met the lovely Lydia through Mamavation. Just another reason for the mamas out there to join the Sistahood :) - Wheatless Mama

Who doesn't love jewelry? I know that I love it, and Miss Sassy Pants always wants to wear my rings, bracelets, and necklaces. Imagine how excited I was when I found out about Kivelli Baby (find Kivelli Baby on Facebook too: http://facebook.com/kivelli)

Kivelli Baby makes bracelets for infants through 8 years old. Miss Sassy Pants has just turned 8, so when she received her bracelet, she was ecstatic to find that it fit so nicely.

sassy pants bracelet

What I love about the bracelet is that it would definitely fit an infant and could grow as the baby grows. The chain has enough links to expand as your little one grows. And, Miss Sassy Pants still has plenty of room to enjoy her bracelet for a long time.

I asked Miss Sassy Pants to model for me. Here is a picture of the bracelet she received a little bit closer:

kivelli baby bracelet

You can win one, too!

One lucky winner will receive their choice of a Kivelli Baby bracelet. FOUR second place winners will receive $15 gift certificates to Kivelli Baby's shop.

win kivelli

Use the Rafflecopter below to enter for your chance to win. Kivelli Baby bracelets also make beautiful gifts!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thanks to my friends who are helping to promote this giveaway. Be sure to show them some love on their blogs as well!

Rachel @ To Hab and To Hold

Martha @ Wheatless Mama

Shannon @ Aries Mommy

June @ Simply Junebug

April @ Insights by April

 

Sunday, February 10, 2013

#Mamavation Monday: Lent, water, bridge to 10k and the cheat

So I'm Catholic and this coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday which means Lent! 46 days of praying, fasting and alms giving or I my case: running, drinking water and cheating on both.

Okay so as part of Mamavation, I am doing the Water challenge. I get a cup of coffee in the morning and then nothing but water for the rest of the day. Now I gave up soda right before Christmas and I don't miss it at all but I love me some sweet tea and giving it up will be difficult! Also I am a member of a coffeehouse crew, basically a group that hangs at the local coffeehouse. What am I going to drink?

So here comes the cheat. Last year I took on c25k for Lent and stuck with it right to a 5k in May. So this time I am going for the Bridge to 10k. It's 6 weeks so just about the same time as lent ends. If I do all three of my runs for the week I earn one latte. This will help keep me running and give myself a reward too. This should be fun!

This post is sponsored by Touch Within Coaching and Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention and weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Mourning Normalcy for Ravebaby

Okay, so I don't always talk about my wheatfree life as much as I should but today someone on my facebook posted about the frustrations on living dairy-free and feeling alone in the frustration especially when it comes to telling their child no when they want something.  So here goes . . .

Dear Parents of a child with allergies:
I know you are wondering what you did wrong?  Did you eat the wrong thing during pregnancy?  Why would your child be punished like this?  They can't eat X and everyone else around them can.  It is so unfair.

You are right.  It is totally unfair and in most cases there is nothing you could have done differently and outside of this one huge inconvenience (reading every damn label in the world before buying/eating/using) your child is great and really you won't trade them for anything. 

So you have every parent (of a child with an allergy) in the world's permission to mourn your loss of normalcy.  Cry it out.  Scream it out.  Do it now.  Then understand you will want to do it again and again for the rest of your life.  You might want to cry when you realize your child will never have the First Communion you had always envisioned, just the blood no host 'cause of the wheat.  You will have to say no when every around is buying from the ice cream man since he doesn't have anything diary-free.  You will feel low and judged when you say no to a cookie.  People will look at you like you have killed Mickey Mouse but they don't know that that cookie will cause your child hours of agony later. 

You may mourn.  You may cry.  You will survive and after all of your work and your careful choices you will have a teenage who eats everything they are allergic to because it won't kill them just make them hurt.  Hey, they are they ones who have to make friends.  You will feel like your efforts have been useless but YOU KEPT THEM ALIVE. You kept a simple rashy allergy from turning into a deadly one so you go with your bad self!

I cry.  Sometimes I see my archnemisis give his child, Ravebaby's best friend, a cookie, right in front of Ravebaby and I want to cry and scream about how unfair it is.  It is not anyone fault.  It is not a bad thing.  I live a wheatless life and I'm good with it most days.  I hate telling Ravebaby no.  I hate seeing that look of "I want that" and her feeling defeated.  I want my child to be normal. I want to give her that damn cheap ass nasty cookie so that she won't feel different.  I want to give it to her so I won't feel different.  We're different.  That is life.  It is not fair.  I allow myself a moment to cry and mourn and then I move on. 

So please don't feel alone.  Please know we all do it.  No matter how cool we are with the X-free life we lead, we all have times we mourn the loss of that X.  Go ahead cry.  Go ahead morn.  Believe it or not, you are just being normal :)

Signed,
Wheatless Mama, mom of one, wheatless for 3 years +


Tuesday, February 5, 2013

I got uplifted!

In so many ways, it has been an uplifting day. Today I ,ailed off my application for the Doctorate of Education program at SFASU. I am nervous and excited. I am still waiting for my GRE scores for my application to be complete. Once those are in the hands of the Graduate school, I have completed my app. Then comes the hard part, interviewing and then either acceptance or rejection. Actually the hard part will be the work but I'll cross that bridge when or if I get there.

Second uplift of the day, moving forward on the bass. Max showed me a new technique watch sounds cool and is super hard. It will take me a lot of practice but I'll get there. It will be good for the band since we are just a bass and guitar. We need a cool sound.

Last uplift of the day is literal. I got two new bras! They fit so well. My bandmate and soul sister, Rocker Wife, is starting a new boutique and I had the privilege of being the first person fitted for a new bra. They are so pretty too! Maybe if I get brave I'll post some before and afters later! :)

Monday, February 4, 2013

#mamavation Monday: DIY armband

So I don't normally talk about crafting and never talk about crafting for the sake of exercise but here goes.

So I went to Best Buy to buy the armband for my Galaxy S3. I done my research, saved my money. I was ready. They were out of them! The dude looked at me and said, well it's the first of the year and everyone has those resolutions to keep. Jackass!

So I came hope so defeated. No armband, no motivation and DH still not ready to join my work-outs. Then I thought to myself, why not make my own? I still have my iPhone 3 armband, just repurpose it, right? I got on YouTube and then wanted to kick my own ass. I found dozens of tutorials on making you own armband from a sock. It is so easy. You take a sock cut off the toe, double it then put your phone in it. That is it! I am using a Babyleg to be more fashionable :). So tip of the blog: make your own armband!

I also got my box of Beanitos! Such a kick ass way to start the week!

This post is sponsored by Jessica – the Healthy Hip Chick and Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway