Author: Michelle

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3rd Annual Ag Essay Contest “Our Food, Our Farmers: Nourishing Generations of Hoosiers”

Do you remember essay contests from when you were in school? In grade school, I think we wrote essays in class for the DAR, the Rotary Club and other assorted civil clubs. It’s a right of passsage that hasn’t passed on- this is the third year for Indiana Family of Farmers Ag Essay Contest.

This year’s contest is sponsored by both Indiana Family of Farmers, as well as Indiana Humanities (as part of their two-year Spirit of Competition initiative). The theme is one that will make proud Hoosiers stand a little taller:  “Our Food, Our Farmers: Nourishing Generations of Hoosiers.” Students are asked to write a grade-level appropriate essay addressing the following:

Describe how Indiana farmers 1) nourish our families, 2) our animals, and 3) our earth (soil). Please provide an example from each of the three areas.

Students in any school in Indiana, grades 4-12 are eligible to participate. Grades 4-6 are to write less than 200, grades 7-9 are to write less than 400, and grades 10-12 less than 600 words.

For teachers (I know you’re reading), Indiana Family of Farmers and Indiana Humanities has already done the heavy lifting for you. They’ve lined up the essay writing process with Indiana Core Academic Standards, making your job a little easier.

Does your class or your individual child need a litte more motivation? Each grade level will have two award winners. In addition to an invitation to the Indiana State House for recognition on March 5, 2013 in celebration of National Ag Day, the first place winner of each group will recieve an Apple iPad, and the second place winner will recieve Beats by Dr. Dre Headphones. I kind of want to enter myself now…

The deadline is February 1, 2013, so it’s time to get researching Indiana’s rich agriclutural contributions. Encourage your children to enter, and email your child’s teacher the details on this exciting contest!

Complete details about the contest can be found on the Indiana Family of Farmers website, as well the Indiana Humanities website.

This post is sponsored by Indiana Family of Farmers and Indiana Humanities. 

 

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Winter Vacation 2012/2013: Sledding, Kale Chips and Container Gardening, Oh My!

Happy 2013, Friends!

We’ve been enjoying a two week break from our day to day routines, and as it draws to a close, I’m *almost* ready to pack lunches and my laptop and have a place to go on Monday. ALMOST(good thing I have a few more hours to accept this).

Snow dumped on us the day after Christmas, and ever since, my snow bunnies have wanted to be outside. Saturday we went sledding at Butler with friends, and they had a blast. Sledding in the winter is to swimming in the summer- they leave me at the door and go head first into the fun.

Post-sledding cocoa

We also made snow ice cream for the first time, and it was a frosty, tasty treat. Katie gave me the inspiration- she made her’s with milk and sugar, I did the condensed milk recipe I found, since we were almost out of milk. Amy documented both recipes. so click through to 4th Frog for exact instructions. We ate some the night we made it, and finished it up last night. You know what? It was creamier and less icy last night. I duly noted the results for next time.

After the kids go to bed, my new obession is kale chips. One of my New Year’s resolutions is to keep adding fruits and veggies to my diet, and I was feeling stuck. At a cooking club dinner a few months ago, my friend Cathy brought homemade kale chips, and I thought they were good. I found a handy post at Divas Can Cook, followed her advice and have become a kale chip chef! Kale’s kind of a super food, and I bought a week’s worth at the store for $1.49 so it’s a win-win all around.

After eating my tasty kale, I started thinking about gardening this summer. We have a patio, but what I’m thinking of using is the balcony off our master bedroom. We never go out there, it would be away from pesky critters, and I think it woud be a lot less buggy. It’s January, so I’m doing the logical thing and just dreaming/pinning about it on Pinterest, but I’m hopeful it will come to fruition.

In the mean time, it’s really time to start working on Listen To Your Mother: Indianapolis. That’s bound to keep me busy until all of this snow is gone (and then some).

This has been a post. I hope to write more of them, on a more frequent basis in 2013.

Til next time, Happy New Year, from the kids & our manatee!

There really is no explanation. Happy New Year!
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Our Shining Stars: Forever Friends

This weekend one of my dearest friends, Angie, came to town unexpectedly. Unexpected trips in December are never for fun, and her trip wasn’t for pleasure. BUT, despite the circumstances, we were happy to see each other. What was even cooler? Our kids were SO HAPPY to see each other.

Since college, with the exception of about six months when we were both in Indianapolis, we’ve always lived far, far away from each other. She was in Indy, I was in Cleveland. She was in Massachusetts, I was in Chicago. I was in Indianapolis, she was traveling across the country, then back in Massachusetts. She’s the friend who moved heaven and earth to make it to (and be in) my wedding, met me in Atlantic City (because, hey,it’s just a little south of Boston), and met me in Atlanta. Her twins and my MaM are only four months apart, and are becoming thick as theives. At the most, we get a couple of days a year together, but they are always good days.

This time around, our girls were just as excited to see each other as we were. Her daughter came with me to pick up MaM from school, and they squealed when they saw each other. They immediately ran upstairs and shut the door to MaM’s room. When it was time for little P to go, MaM protested. “MOM! We need more time! We didn’t even get to play with my toys, we just got busy talking.” (Like you do.)

These girls. I love everything about them, as people and as friends to each other.
Sunday, our last night together, the girls exchanged gifts, and I gave Angie a special star from the Hearts of Haiti collection at Macy’s. I’ve got a star on my tree, and now she’s got one on hers. Now whenever I look at it, I think of her and her entire fantastic family. She truly is a star in my life, and her daughter is one is MaM’s.

The Hearts of Hait Collection features more than 40 home decor items including quilts, metalwork, jewelry and paintings all made almost entirely from recycled and sustainable items such as old cement bags, cardboard, oil drums and local gommier wood. These fair trade items bolster the Haitian economy, which is critical since it is the poorest country in the western hemisphere.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own. #CleverHaiti