Weekend Update 9.28.08

It's been a whirlwind month for me.

The first three weeks were packed with remodeling and re-setting the co-op that I manage, and implementing our "re-branding", just in time for the Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Fair. I got to give a tour of my store to George Siemons of Organic Valley, who is an alumni of CSU and was a member of the original buying club that became the co-op. Organic Valley is a great success story for both organics and cooperatives, and it was cool to show off our updated look to them and talk retail/organics/cooperatives.

My wife tells me that we're having another baby in May, and she's been weaning our youngest child so that she can have a break between her and our next child. It's been a full week now since they last nursed, but our little bean still asks to nurse every night. We've had some really loud toddler meltdowns, but it's getting better...

We had planned to go to our homestead property for a week, but my truck has a bad knock (sounds like a pushrod?) and I didn't want to drive 700 miles and head out to the boonies with the chance of getting stranded, so we rented a vehicle and decided to head to the high country instead. We are due in Durango for a wedding next weekend, but until then, we are footloose. We spent some time in Rocky Mountain National Park (on the old Fall River Road), then headed through Kremmling and Toponas to Eagle. South on 24 through Leadville to Buena Vista was the next leg, and we ended up in Salida and spent two days there. Gorgeous little mountain town. Today we headed to the San Luis Valley and spent the afternoon at Valley View Hot Springs. After some good soaking, we loaded up and headed north and west to end up in Gunnison. Next stop is Ouray, then Telluride, then Durango.

Today is our youngest's 3 year birthday. Man, time flies when you live the crazy family life!

I think we're nuts: a pregnant woman, a high energy 3 year old, a 10-going-on-15 year old, and an overworked cranky dad in a very full car in the high country. If we make it to Durango without any more major meltdowns, we'll be extremely lucky.

Next vacation, we're staying at home...

Great bumper sticker seen recently: Pictures of McCain and Obama, with a caption of "Same Shit, Different Piles"

Weekend Update and Link Love 9.7.08

We're thrifters.

We buy thrift store clothes and cruise garage sales for kids clothes. It's rare that we spend money on new clothes. Why pay full price when Goodwill has it for 3 bucks?

My 10 year old daughter recently got some cash as a gift, with the understanding that she could get some new clothes for a wedding that's coming up. She said that because the clothes she liked best came from the Limited and Old Navy, she wanted me to take her shopping at both places.

Here's this green kid, raised by crunchy parents, asking to go shopping at the mall.

Whoah.

She's making her own choices, and we have to be good with that. We can't make every choice for her. We trust that the parenting we've done is good guidance for her, and we trust the morals and principles we taught to her.

It's still hard to let go, even on a small scale.

Weekend Update and Link Love

• I like the Environmental Working Group. Lots of good information.
• Worldmapper has almost 600 world maps with territories re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest. You might get stuck there for some time.
• The White House lawn is for sale
• Got some time? Grow a chair.
• Where are you on the Global Rich List? You'd be surprised.
• Rain barrel set-up.
• DIY bike repair stands
• SourceWatch is a collaborative project to produce a directory of the people, organizations and issues shaping the public agenda. Lots of background info on trade groups and thinktanks.
  

I've posted articles elsewhere on the interweb:

• Green in Fort Collins: Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Fair
  
• New Study Finds High Levels of Toxic Fire Retardants in Children’s Blood
  
• New Pharmacy Research: Holy Basil has Anti-Aging Properties
• Why We Choose Organic Every Time
• All-Star Veggie Kabob Recipe
• Back to School with EcoBrain: Green Up Your Bookshelf
• Grilling Corn on the Cob This Weekend?
• Fathers and Homeschooling: 21 Online Resources for Woodworking Projects
  
• Green Gear for Dads: Stylish Recycled and Repurposed Diaper Bags
• Natural Remedies for Wasp, Yellowjacket, and Honeybee Stings

Today I felt slow and old and sluggish, so I got out my speed rope and spun for awhile. That jazzed me so much that I worked out, and now I feel great. Yet another reminder to keep moving.

No, it's not flesh. It's a slice of plum left on the table outside for several days. Weird.

8.17.08 Weekend Update and Link Love

This weekend was the "New West Fest" (New Waste Fest, I say) in our downtown shopping area. There was lots of free music, courtesy of the Bohemian Foundation, with Taj Mahal and Little Feat as the headliners.

We got to see Taj Mahal last night, and it was most excellent. I've been a fan of his for years, but I'd never seen him play before. Amazing. He's a great showman and a soulful musician. The kids weren't so jazzed to be there, but the little one went to sleep in the Ergo carrier and mama got to enjoy the show.

Most of the "Fest" is made up of vendors selling:

• stuffed animals
• fairy wands and butterfly wings
  
• cable and direct TV installation (free!)
• car window replacement service ($50 off coupon)
• the latest "superfood" network marketing stuff (goji berry, mangosteen, colloidal silver)
  
• politics (candidates and party)
  
• windows and siding ("energy efficient")
• cheap sunglasses (buy one and get two free for $20)
• overpriced imported jewelry, clothing, and assorted crap
• airbrush and henna tattoos
• cheap straw cowboy hats (buy one get one free)
• funnel cakes
• chiropractic services (free screening)
  
• kettle corn
• God (ours is the way)
  
• fry bread (Indian)
• magnetic jewelry (arthritis miracle)
  
• BBQ (genuine Texas)
• turkey legs
• custom signs (Rat Terrier Crossing, Harley Parking, Bronco Fan Parking)
  
• chili-cheeseburgers
• fountain drinks (large, jumbo, extra-large)

One booth, right at a central location, had 16 oz. bottles of coke or water for sale for 3 bucks each. Three dollars each! What the hell?...  I don't drink soda, and I always bring water with me, so whatever. Capitalism. Supply and demand. Opportunity. Whatever.

The crowd mentality is a wierd thing. Walking through the place, watching where people went (free stuff), it all felt very strange to me. I rarely buy anything at fairs, but I do enjoy checking out any craftsmen or artisans' booths, especially wooden stuff.

We went because our ten year old really wanted to ride some carnival rides. Really wanted to. Bugged us until it happened. So we head to the rides, which are all part of the carnival part, to the side of the rest of the fair. Tickets are a buck each, and each ride costs three tickets (it's different somehow, to buy three tickets for a dollar apiece instead of one ride for three bucks...). Three year old goes on the merry-go-round, ten year old on the mini rollercoaster and big swing while three year old yells and cries "I want to do that right now! I want to go on ride! I a big girl!".

Enough randomness. Now for some links.

• I've gotten quite a few visitors from FrugalBabe, so I added her to the blogroll.
• I've been looking around cre8Buzz , finding other dads who blog.
• Go check out Internet Archive. So much cool stuff there.
• I just found Kitchen Gardeners International.  
• jango for custom internet radio.
• Need a personal trainer or coach? Alternative Personal Training is highly recommended.
• celsias. Interesting concept. What do you think?
• I'm still going to jail on August 20th. Help bail me out and support the March of Dimes.
• Eat the View. High-visibilty edible landscapes. 

I'm Still Here, I've Just Been Silent.

Image via WikipediaDay-Late Weekend Update 8.04.08

I haven't posted to this blog for the last two weeks, but I'm still alive, and here's a little of what has happened for me:

• We went to the high country for a week to attend a Sun Dance ceremony. It was incredible. Our kids had a good time, and we saw a lot of our community and relatives and reconnected with them.
• I made a leap and bought an iMac. I've had a Windows PC laptop for the last two years and it's been sufficient until now. After polling all of the Mac people and messing about on one, I decided to just go for it (credit makes it almost too easy) and got set up two days ago. I love it. It's quiet and fast and all of the applications integrate nicely. I've had to learn some new shortcuts and terminology, but it seems very intuitive. I haven't seen easy access to some of the geeky stuff, like with Windows, but I know it's there when I'm ready.
• I got a new tattoo. Man, I had forgotten how intense it is... It's still healing, so I've been staying out of the sun. I also haven't gotten a workout in for a week, so I'm making that a priority this week.
  
• Papa-time is at an all time high. My wife has been going to the Farmers Market with some other crafty mamas to sell her prairie bonnets and vegetarian recipe book, so I'm the man who wakes up to "Where mama? I want to nurse." on Saturday mornings. I love it, but being woken up by a crabby three year old on a Saturday (a possible sleep-in day) can get things started on the wrong foot. Our oldest is a big help, sometimes a little too helpful for a willful 3 year old. We hang out and do the breakfast (coffee for me) thing, then walk down to the market with the coolest wagon around and do our shopping and meet up with mama. We then haul our groceries home and wait for mama to be done. It's cool, our own ritual day...
• Bonus papa-time this weekend, as a friend of ours was in labor for a long time (first birth, at home with a midwife) and called for my wife to come support her. So she dashes off early Sunday before the kids wake up, and we do papa-time until lunch, when we hear that the mother is exhausted and dehydrated and is being transported to the hospital. We go pick up mama (ours) and she puts our little one down for a nap and then goes back to the birth. Then we hear nothing for a long time, and at dusk we get a call about a baby girl being born naturally, but a separation of mom and babe due to (insert fear here) that requires machines and tools. Two hours later, my wife calls and says they've been reunited and I can pick her up. It's 10 pm by the time we're all back home and fed and ready to crash. Papa-overtime, I say. Yeaa for babies, hurray for mamas!
• Our ten year old started "prairie school" this week at the local museum. There are a couple of historic buildings that were moved to the courtyard there, and my daughter goes to the one room schoolhouse every morning for a week to experience what it was like "back in the day". It's pretty neat, and very popular. Highly recommended. You've probably got something similar near you. If not, what are you waiting for? Start the ball rolling...
  
• I posted about about nurturing a breastfeeding mother at Eco Child's Play today for World Breastfeeding Week.
• I'm still trying to raise bail before August 20th. for the March of Dimes. Go here for my page: Jail and Bail and drop a couple bucks in for a good cause.
  

I'm back to a regular groove with posting, I think, so check back often for lots of exciting randomness and regular ol' natural parenting stuff...

Leave a comment so I know you're out there. (Is this thing on?)

7.13.08 Weekend Update and Link Love

Photo of my wife's bonnets for sale at the farmers market. She has a booth with several mama friends, selling handmade items, like crocheted hats, felted toys, natural play dough, and a vegetarian recipe "book" called Karuna Kitchen. They call themselves the Wooly Mamas.

Go mamas!

Yes, I've missed a few days of posting... I know that all three (ok, maybe five) of my readers are disappointed, so here's an update-

7.13.08 Weekend Update and Link Love


Life is very full these days. Here's what's been happening for me:

I've been posting on the Green Options network, to the Eco Child's Play and Eat. Drink. Better. blogs. You can see my articles here:

• Green Gear for Dads: A Wagon With Style : Eco Child's Play
• Natural Parenting: Co-Sleeping For New Dads : Eco Child's Play
• Natural Pregnancy: 3 Nurturing Tips For New Dads : Eco Child's Play
• Dad Does Breakfast: Easy Recipes For Healthy Eating : Eco Child's Play
• Free Food : Grazing For Local Greens In the Lawn : Eat. Drink. Better.

If you like them, or know someone who would, leave a comment or pass it on to a friend.

You can subscribe to the RSS feeds to get the latest postings on those blogs. Look for the little orange RSS icon. I publish this feed through FeedBurner, and I like the feature of offering a feed that can be read by many newsreaders.

I use Google Reader to subscribe to blogs and sites that are updated frequently, and then I don't have to go to the site to check for new posts. I can click through to the blog if I want, to read the whole article or leave a comment, but if the title and summary don't grab me I can go to the next feed without loading a new page for the next site. If you're an information junkie like me, I highly recommend Reader.

If you want to follow along with me on Twitter, see naturalpapa

I have a page on Facebook: Derek Markham

I also Plurk: naturalpapa

Twitter and Facebook and Plurk are kind of new to me, and they don't take much time, as I usually update with my cell when I have a spare moment. I'm not online all day long, contrary to popular belief.

I'm also listed with Best Green Blogs: Natural Father

TopicCraze: Best Dad Sites

StumbleUpon: D-Man413

Technorati: dman413

Recently, Zen Dad put a link to me in a post. Thanks!

There's nothing like shameless self-promotion...

I like reading: Cornucopia Institute, Seth's Blog, Disinfo, Grist,and Stuffed and Starved.