Naturally Knocked Up » Life

Critial Information You MUST Have

donielle — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:16:12 +0000

Over the last few months I’ve been contacted a few times mentioning that my RSS feed has been acting up and won’t let people subscribe. I kinda hid my head in the sand about it because to be completely honest – I had NO idea how to fix it, because I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it!

(While all this talk of RSS feeds might be leaving you perplexed because you think I’m speaking some weird blogger language – let me explain. This feed makes it easy to subscribe to my blog in what’s called a Feed Reader – I use Google Reader – where you can check all the blogs you like on one page instead of having to bookmark them all.)

Well, I lost ALL my subscribers last fall when I switched blogging platforms (makes me hyperventilate just thinking about it!!) and (this is where you pay REALLY close attention!!) I may lose you again. I’m in the process of switching to a new company that will take much better care of my subscribers, keep better stats , and all around help me keep my sanity.

Please help keep me from hyperventilating and subscribe to my new RSS feed!

Again…….subscribe to my new RSS feed!

I’m made some great friends this past year and I don’t want to wonder where you went. And I really don’t want the “heart in my throat”, “butterflies in my tummy” feeling I had last year when I realized everyone was gone! Please save me from the anxiety of seeing a big fat zero next to my feed stats. And if you’ve had a hard time subscribing in the past, I hope you’ll add me to your reader as well.

Thanks guys! You all are truly the best readers out there.

I have a lot of new and exciting things coming up here this fall, so make sure you add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email. I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter! **

My T.V. Appearance and Event Info

donielle — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:48:05 +0000

Yesterday was my T.V. appearance to promote a Healthy Child = Healthy Word event that my friend Tarra and I are doing. It was fun – nerve wracking – and interesting!

As we were sitting there waiting our conversation went something like this:

“I think I’m gonna throw up”

“Me too.”

We kinda thought we’d have a minute to speak with the hosts since it was all prerecorded, you know so they could at least tell us what questions they might ask! But they brought us in, hooked us up to microphones, sat us down, and away we went! Here’s the clip!

So if you’re local, make sure you stop by on Saturday! Tarra and I just went through all the raffle prizes and they are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Just to give you an idea here’s a few of the goods:

Medela breastpump and bottle kit(value over $150.00)

Chiropractic evaluation and massage

Starbucks organic goodies basket

cloth diapers

wool soaker

Moby Wrap

nursing cover

headbands and tutus from different Etsy shops

Captured in clay tile

Kitchen Stewardships Healthy Snacks to Go eBook

sippy cups

kefir grains

organic take and bake cookies

scholarship to my eCourse

massages

handmade candles

and many, many more!!

We’ll also have a table of samples for different snack foods, lots of coupons, demos, and we’ll even have a few vendor tables for local shops that adhere to the same standards we have for our families.

This is gonna be a lot of fun!!!

I have a lot of new and exciting things coming up here this fall, so make sure you add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email. I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter! **

News You Can Use

donielle — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:30:39 +0000

At at least a few things that I want you to know about!!

Last Tuesday was the final Nourishing Ways meeting for the year (our local Weston A Price chapter) and we all brought some healthy snacks and recipes. I was able to try out some great new concoctions and hopefully soon I’ll be able to whip some of them up at home and share them with you all. There were some fabulous nut mixes, a wonderful, savory popcorn mix, and some really good honey nut bars. Katie (from Kitchen Stewardship) even brought lots of snacks from her “Healthy Snacks to Go” eBoook, which I of course snagged a few of! I happened to bring my Black Bean Brownies, Granola Bars, and Caramel Corn which all went over very well and I didn’t bring more than a handful of food!

Last week I was also able to meet with a natural parenting group in a town close by and had a great time discussing non toxic living and nourishing foods! I love meeting mommas who are so interested in the same things I am.

Tomorrow……I am going to be on T.V.!!!!! I know, right!? I still can’t believe it, and am going to be trying hard to not look like a dufus! My friend and I are going on our local news station’s morning show (Eight West) to promote an event we’re holding this Saturday and it’s a great opportunity to spread the word. Now I just have yet to find something to wear……..

The event happening here in Grand Rapids, MI this weekend is the “Healthy Child = Healthy World” presentation. This FREE event is intended to raise awareness about chemicals in cleaning products, carpet, paint, furniture, clothing, foods, you name it, and how they are affecting our children, and ultimately our world. Along with that there will be an informative discussion concerning preparing for a healthy pregnancy, staying healthy while pregnant, giving babies the best start to life, and continuing healthy habits into childhood. Not only will there be a short video and topical discussions, there will be lots of samples to check out, goody bags, and some awesome raffle prizes! Many companies have partnered with us on this and donated everything from a $150.00 breast pump, to toys, to snacks, to cloth diapers, to clothing. It’s going to be a great time, so if you’re available locally from 1:00pm-3:30ish pm, please stop by!!

Next week Monday, I’ll be opening enrollment for my eCourse! It seems like it’s been a long time in coming and yet has come so fast. I’m excited as this is really something I’m passionate about. I’d appreciate it if you could all keep me in your prayers that the launch runs smoothly. I’m ever so grateful for all of the support you’ve all shown me over the last few months!

I have a lot of new and exciting things coming up here this fall, so make sure you add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email. I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter! **

Forever 29

donielle — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:16:25 +0000

Last Sunday was my 29th birthday.

Gulp.

That’s way to close to 30 for my comfort!

I thought I’d entertain you all with a few tidbits about me you may not know. How ’bout 29 of them?

I’m the oldest of five girls

and the only one to get the curly hair.

It’s why I’m kinda bossy. (the oldest part – not the part about the hair)

I’ve never NOT had a pet. Ever.

I wore a patch when I was little.

My mom drew an eye on it for the first day of school!

I’m ‘friends’ on facebook with more of my elementary school friends than highschool friends.

I was home schooled from 7th through 12th grades.

I used to ride and show horses.

The first vehicle I drove was an 87 diesel suburban.

The first car I owned was a yellow 1972 VW Bug.

It did not have heat

and had many holes in the floorboard.

I’ve known my husband since elementary school

We got married at 19.

and bought a condo.

During the time we lived there we got about a dozen violation letters.

Our retired neighbor was the association president!

I didn’t know how to cook at all.

We lived off of boxed and frozen foods and pop and ice cream.

We then bought a farmhouse.

And brought my horse there.

And got goats.

Moved to a neighborhood after a few years of dealing with a farmhouse in disrepair.

We now have chickens

and 2 ducks

a rottweiler and 2 cats

I now drive my husband crazy with all my ferments and ‘weird’ stuff on the counters!

and I’m finally getting the hang of cooking!

I have a lot of new and exciting things coming up here this fall, so make sure you add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email. I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter! **

A Good Old Fashioned Update

donielle — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 10:00:49 +0000

It’s been awhile since I’ve given you all an update on what’s going on with me. You know other than what I’m doing in my kitchen or what my rebellious ovaries may be up to. Now that spring has sprung, it seems every waking moment is full of life! So busy, and each day bringing new and wondrous things!

(image credit)

I’ve started my garden. It’s been tiled once and I have 2 flats of seeds sprouting in my living room as we speak. I decided to go with some heirloom seeds from Baker Creek this year and I’ll be putting a couple raised beds in as well.

I also bought chickens on Saturday!

Oh, yes I did. Bylaws or no bylaws, we got ‘em. Six to be exact.

This little lady was to fun and colorful. She’s an aracuna which also means she’ll lay green, blue, or even pink eggs!

We also got 2 little bantam chickens that will lay bite sized eggs.

And my favorite is a really light yellow colored aracuna (far right). She perches on our fingers.

We call her the “Hillbilly Macaw”

We also got 2 ISA brown chickens, that are just your run of the mill looking brown chickens.

And so far I’ve found that there is one downfall to getting chickens…..we now want more! Right now they reside in my office in a makeshift ‘coop’ as it’s still to cold for them to go outside, but soon we’ll be building them a permanent home outdoors. And tehy might just get some more new friends called ducks. Yea, we want a couple of those too.

Last week I had the pleasure of having Jodi and her little ones out to my mom’s house to ride my horse. I haven’t ridden in a couple years now and goiong out there I remembered all the things I loved about riding when I was growing up. The crisp spring air, the horses whinnying from the pasture, the feel of connecting with one of God’s creatures, and the excitement of a little girl who was riding for the first time.

(image credit: jodimichelle)

And then my horse (Lady) tried to bite me as I walked close with the saddle.

And sent a few swift kicks in my direction as I cinched her up.

And further more proceeded to make me look crazy for letting someone think a child could ride her. And so I had to jump into the teeny little child’s saddle I had put on her and let her know who’s boss.

I now remember why I like the thought of riding more than the actual action of riding.

Last week I also traveled to see Micheal Pollan (author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” ) with Katie from Kitchen Stewardship. Our night started out rather rocky as my sister hitched a ride with us trying to make it back to the other side of the state where she lives. (her car broke down but she had to get to work and class so my wonderful grandmother was meeting us halfway) Well…..grandma got lost and we ended up leaving my poor sister at a gas station with her laundry and suitcase.

Don’t worry – it was a restaurant too.

So we finally made it, albeit a touch late, and had a great night listening to Pollan speak. He touched on a wide variety of issues, but to me the best part about it was that while he talked about the dangers of processed foods, he was also in support of farmers and discussed how they could be part of the solution to our problems.

Tonight I got to go to our local Weston A. Price Foundation chapter meeting and listen to Dr. Sue McCreadie and Angelle Batten, of NourishMD, talk about gut health and how “The Way to a Healthier, Happier Child is Through the Tummy”. They did a great job and I came away with lots of new tidbits of information!

I’m still busy working on my e-course and hope to launch it in June and I have an e-book simmering on the back burner, just waiting for me to get to it! I also have a few reviews that I need to get done for my blog here, so if I get a bit review heavy the next week or so it’s because I owe these people a review in a decent time frame and have been severely lacking!

Well that’s all the fun stuff! What’s going on with you?

I have a lot of new and exciting things coming up here this fall, so make sure you add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email. I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter! **

Birthday Treat for Baby

donielle — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:43:55 +0000

My little girl turned one last week and since I’ve kept her away from traditional desserts and sugar for this entire last year, I just couldn’t get myself to feed her the conventional cake and ice cream.

Instead I made my grain free brownies and topped them with real whipped cream and strawberries.

Let’s just say it was well received!

And I didn’t feel any guilt letting her have such an indulgent treat!

This post is linked to: REAL Food Wednesday

I have a lot of new and exciting things coming up here this fall, so make sure you add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email. I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter! **

The Ultimate Party

donielle — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 04:40:25 +0000

So for the last couple of years, I’ve been participating in the Ultimate Blog Party, hosted by 5 minutes for mom. And basically I love it! I’ve found some great blogging friends that I still “chat” with to this day! It’s like online dating, but for friends. I won’t bore you with a super long post trying to show you all my wit and fabulousness (because in reality we bloggers know how many times we write and re write every post anyways and seriously that’s just to much to live up to should I ever meet you in real life like I did Jill from Diaper Diaries) so here’s the nitty gritty:

I’m a 28 year old naturally knocked up mama of two. And after overcoming symptoms of PCOS (poly cystic ovary syndrome) just saying that causes my heart to skip a beat!

My husband affectionately (hopefully it’s affectionate) calls me a hippie as I’m a bit of a naturalist when it comes to food, parenting, and living. (most of the time he really just thinks I’m crazy)

I love researching food and I’m a constant student of nourishing nutrition! I make most of our food from scratch and am currently fumbling through figuring out the whole garden thing!

After having my second baby I’ve become quite the advocate for natural childbirth, breastfeeding, and baby wearing.

I talk way to much about cervical fluids, ovulation, and periods while in public. (and it embarrasses my husband to no end)

I decided to cloth diaper my babe and actually don’t mind it so much.

I drink water kefir and kefir soda like it’s going out of style.

I spend way to much time online and not all of it is ‘work’. (ahem – twitter, facebook…..)

So there you have it – my online ‘dating’ profile! I hope you’ll come join me in partying in the next week or so. I have some good stuff cooking up in my kitchen that I think you might like!

I’m also in the process of writing and publishing an e-course all about Preparing for Pregnancy (which will be launching early this summer) so that puts me in the position to give away something this year!! woot woot! (seriously never said woot woot before, but figured it was warranted) Just leave me a comment on this post and you’ll be entered to win membership/access to the course free of charge.

(how’s that for bribing you to be my friend?)

Over the next couple of months I’ll also be giving away access to the course for my subscribers and Facebook Fans. (and as an added bonus, you’ll also be able to sign up as an affiliate)

See you around the Ultimate Blog Party and thanks for stopping by!!!

I have a lot of new and exciting things coming up here this fall, so make sure you add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email. I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter! **

Time

donielle — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:01:32 +0000

It’s something I’m massively short on this week! Somehow my rule of “don’t plan anything more than 1 night a week” has turned into “gone all but one night”. Eeek! On top of that, I’m trying to write my new e-course, plant seeds for my garden, and keep up here around the house.

Soooo, whilst I love to hang out and chat with you all, I’ll be taking a short break until next Monday. Where I will be back with a bunch of recipes (I just checked out my photo folder and forgot how many pictures of food I’ve taken!) another giveaway, and the next part in my fertility diet series.

Have a great week everyone!!

*also Tiffany won the sprouted baking mix from last week – an e-mail should have gone out to you! Congrats!

I have a lot of new and exciting things coming up here this fall, so make sure you add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email. I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter! **

An Afternoon of Friends + Food = Major Fun!

donielle — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:21:44 +0000

So last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending my friend Jodi’s (of jodimichelle.com) cooking demo! I got to meet some new friends and we had a blast watching her cook up some fabulous food, and an even better time sitting around eating it all.

First she made some caramel corn. And while I’m still watching my sugar intake, this had to be sampled. No judgment folks…

We also made up a curry dip for veggies. Curry and veggies never really seemed to go together in my mind, but it was quite delish! My favorite thing about watching other people cook is that I find so many new flavors and combos that I’ve never tried.

She then put together a salad, and while I’ve never been to big on sweet salads, this one will grace our table now and again. I was very pleasantly surprised! The sweet, the crunch, the goat cheese……oh wait. We won’t talk about the cheese huh Jodi. Oh and the poppy seed dressing……..Mmmmmm.

We (she) also made some salmon. Now, salmon is something I’ve just been making for a few years now and while we do like it, I’ve never stepped away from the “butter, salt, and pepper” basics. We chatted a bit about how she cooks it and why and I left with some great tips for the next time I make it for dinner.

She pricks the fish before pouring butter over it. Because it helps get the butter into the fish. Awesome!

She uses a fantastic amount of butter.

Sprinkled with a bit of brown sugar.

Broiled it and served with a slightly sweet red sauce.

To. Die. For.

And there was even a mocha torte for dessert, though I did not take a picture of it. But it was fabulous in all it’s brownie, mocha, whipped cream goodness.

Thanks Jodi, I had a blast! Can’t wait to do it again!

Do you ever get together and cook with friends? I’m really thinking this is a fabulous idea and a great way to try new recipes!

A Boring Title – You woulda thought I’d come up with something better for my first post of the year.

donielle — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 09:37:48 +0000

So anyways, two whole weeks without posting! But what a fabulous 2 weeks we had. I spent many hours baking away in the kitchen making gifts for our family and neighbors. I bought ingredients I haved used in years and felt so very guilty indulging as much as I did. You know, taste testing and all.

We had an awesome Christmas spending time with both my family and Todd’s family. And while I know the politically thing to do is NOT buy women kitchen stuff for gifts, it’s what I ask for! I got a new stock pot, mini ladel, stainless steel measuring cups, and a whole lot of new kitchen towels. (whoo hoo, I got new towels!! My other ones were about rags now that I don’t use paper towels anymore) I also got the wonderful gift of a zoo membership for the next year and can’t wait till it gets warm enough so I can use it!

And for the first time ever I went out on New Years Eve with my family! I headed downtown and spent a good portion of the evening eating and laughing and having a great time. Though I did head home so I could spend some quality time with my love watching the ball drop.

I’ve also been having a great time reading the answers to the survey I asked you all to take for me! It’s been great “getting to know you all” a bit more. I’ve found out that:

my male readership stands at 1% (hi guys!)

a lot of you live down south (I’m jealous, very jealous)

that while many of you already eat a nourishing diet, there are quite a few fessing up to their junk food habits!

a LOT of you love to cook!

some of you would like a forum for more of a community/support atmosphere – would more of you be interested in a fertility forum? And would any of you like to volunteer to be co-moderators? I personally would love to set up something like this, but would need help running it. Please let me know if something like this would be beneficial!

I thank you immensely and appreciate all of you who took the time to take the survey. I now am a bit more focused on my writing and have lots of fun new ideas for the next few months.

And now since I’m a bit more focused, here’s my list of 10 things to start in 2010!

Uh – can we say sugar detox folks? I need one. Desperately. How about you? And weight loss will hopefully happen as well.

A toss the microwave challenge. I think I’ve finally been convicted.

A series on “The Living Kitchen” showing all the goodies ‘growing’ in my kitchen.

Starting up “Try it Tuesdays” again! I need to get out of my comfort zone. Again.

A new “Adventures in Soaking” series showing my flops and successes.

Nourishing Nutrition for different stages in life

More natural living and some “detoxing your home” posts

I also have an idea on a book. But I need to do some thinking and praying and researching. Please pray for me as it’s linked with….

my motto for the year…… “Give Back”

I also thought it would be fun to do some “Menu Makeovers” for those of you still not eating the greatest. (I know you’re out there!) Anyone up for it? I’d makeover either your breakfast, lunch, or dinner menu for the week into something a bit more nutritious. Nothing to crazy, just giving you some new ideas1 If you’re interested shoot me an e-mail at donielle (at) naturallyknockedup.com

And that’s what I’ve got going on, what about you? Any goals you’re looking to hit this new year?

I have a lot of new and exciting things coming up here this fall, so make sure you add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email. I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter! **