Sono-ma

My Sono-Ma: “Tracking” in Ragle Ranch’s Wild Space

Sono-Ma Holly — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:37:01 +0000

"Point your body towards the sun. Then, get your nose as close to the ground as you can," instructs Sono-Ma friend and "sacred survivalism" guru Karla Gormely. All three children immediately drop to their bellies onto the muddy path. I cringe thinking I should have put Bryles in rain pants before we hit the trail, but I am in awe of how intensely interested the children appear. "What do you see?" asks Karla. The children remain silent. "I see lots of circles, lines, and some bike tracks," offers Phelan. "Good," says Karla. "Now, what about animal footprints? Do you see any tracks that you know?" "Doggy paws!" says Phelan jumping up excitedly. "Can I draw it, mommy?" Karla obliges his request by pulling out notebooks for her two kids. She then offers her own observation notebook to Bryles so he can also try his hand at documenting the tracks he finds. Soon all three children are silent again, intently working on drawing the different tracks they can identify. While Bryles can wield a felting needle, card wool, bake bread, and use a hammer and saw, he's rarely picked up a pencil or practiced drawing things he's observed. I glance over his shoulder to watch what he creates. "Draw what you see," directs Karla adding, "Don't just draw something the way you think it should look. Try to capture what is really before you." Bryles first follows along by drawing three small circles and one large circle. The circles are in something of a linear fashion, but I can see he is feeling out the shapes of the dog paw. His second drawing, again of the dog paw, includes circles but this time they more truly mirror the arrangement of the shapes on the ground. As he is able to coordinate his hand and eye, his excitement grows. "Let's go find more!" he says to friend Phelan. Soon, he's on his third drawing - now of a horse shoe print. His shape is spot on, and he's detailing out things like nail impressions. We hike on and Karla and I marvel at the children searching for other signs of animals in Ragle Ranch Park. "Is that a bunny trail?" the children ask each other as they follow a tiny path leading through dried grass to a thicket of bushes. They peak under the thicket, but don't see a bunny. However, they are most happy to move on to another search. Stomping through mud puddles, swinging from low branches, and pausing at marshy spots to search for frogs, they seem to make endless exciting discoveries. "Hey guys! Come see this!" they shout back and forth, pausing only to take a short reverent glance at images like this creek scene: "Isn't this great?" I say to Karla as we follow the children weaving on and off the trail of Ragle's 157 acres of woodlands, marshland and segments of the Atescedero Creek. We both consider ourselves nature lovers, and while I can't yet build a debris hut for shelter or find as many medicinal plants as Karla, I do believe that nature makes an incredible classroom and healing space. We try to meet up to get the kids together for outside play and "gathering" as often as possible. Together with our kids we've collected elderberries to make tincture syrups, lichens and moss for building fairy houses or dying wool, and we've picked blackberries for cobblers, pies, smoothies and more! You, too, can get your family outdoors. Here follows a list of local parks and programs. Also included is a list of books and on-line resources for connecting kids and nature.

Parks

Sonoma County’s regional parks offer great diversion for outdoor enthusiasts, with parks such as Ragle Ranch offering open-ended, nature spaces that encourage free play for young children and adults alike! For more information on Ragle Park, please read our earlier My Sono-Ma story: Exploring Ragle Ranch Regional Park & Wild Spaces in Sebastopol California We also enjoy climbing through the rocks and creek at Santa Rosa City's Brush Creek Trail. Read about our adventures here.

Local Programs

The "Buckeye Gathering" in Forestville, CA offers an incredible, local opportunity to learn wilderness skills as a whole family. This week long event offers workshops for adults and a kid's camp ages 5 (for children of attending adult guardians). Camp coordinators say, "What we offer has not always been known as ‘Primitive Skills’, 'Traditional Arts' ‘Wilderness Survival’ or ‘Earth Living’. At one time it was simply LIFE." Buckeye Gathering http://buckeyegathering.net/joomla/index.php Peter Bergen and Michelle Sauceda recently started "Outside In Nature" a children's "Deep Nature Connection" program at Tara Firma Farms in Petaluma. Two families from our Waldorf school enrolled their boys in the program. These kids are practicing primitive skills such as creating fire with friction and how to build debris shelters. They also get plenty of "dirt time" or "unstructured time in structured container" of the program's "invisible school" model. Read more about these inspiring ideas and models here. Outside In Nature 707 225 2404 www.outsideinnature.com

Books

1.) "Last Child in the Woods" and "The Nature Principle" by Richard Louv "The immediacy of Richard Louv’s message in Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder galvanized an international movement to reconnect children with nature. Now, in The Nature Principle, Louv reaches even further with a powerful call to action for the rest of us. Richard Louv makes a convincing case that through a nature-balanced existence—driven by sound economic, social, and environmental solutions—the human race can and will thrive." (via http://richardlouv.com/books/) 2.) "Coyote’s Guide"...by Jon Young, Ellen Haas, and Evan McGown “This is good medicine for nature deficit disorder. Coyote’s Guide should become the essential resource for anyone who wants to revive their sense of kinship with nature but needs some help. . .” Richard Louv, author of the national bestseller Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder, and chairman of the Children and Nature Network. (via http://owlinkmedia.com/store/books/coyote2/) 3.) Animal Tracking Basics by Jon Young "This how-to book teaches the basics of being a successful tracker – explaining what to look for to find or identify an animal and how to develop an essential environmental awareness. Also describes aging tracks and sign, understanding ecology and mapping, keeping field notes, using track tools, and making casts. " (via http://owlinkmedia.com/store/books/animal-tracking-basics/)

Links

1.) "Let's Get Outside" & Children and Nature Network: http://www.childrenandnature.org/ 2.) Wilderness Awareness School: http://wildernessawareness.org/ 3.) Forest Kindergartens at Waldorf Schools (e.g. Saratoga Springs Waldorf School) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/nyregion/30forest.html 4.) Mother Earth School (outdoor education led by trained Waldorf Teachers in Oregon) http://www.motherearthschool.com/index.shtml 5.) Tom Brown Jr. Tracker School http://www.trackerschool.com/

Rites of Passage: It’s Never Too Late…

DeAnna Lam — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:54:58 +0000

Were you welcomed into Adulthood? Did you receive a ceremony? Had a Mentor? Experienced a sense of belonging to your community as an equal member once you turned a certain age? Most adults living today haven't... When I speak with Jewish folks who had a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, they, too, feel that it was lacking. Most say that learning Hebrew was a task that didn't relate to their life as an adolescent, and that although they felt honored by their synagogue's community, their feelings at the time weren't addressed. Nor were their bodily changes, their hormone fluctuations, their confusion, or their budding sexuality... Most adults I speak with tell me that their parents, teachers, and extended community had no idea about what was really going on in their life during adolescence. Desperate acts such as excessive alcohol drinking, substance abuse, or shop lifting -- have all gone unnoticed. Sexual advances from a boy on a date, or questions about sexual identity were not on the adults' radar. Perhaps it is because these were all good students with high grades, that the adults surrounding them assumed all was well. How can this happen? How do parents believe that all is well in their adolescent child's life while all the while their child feels internally tortured? Why do they think that even though their child doesn't talk with them, everything is actually fine? It's not that we, adults, don't think of our children. We do, excessively sometimes. We worry about them: about their lack of conversation with us, about their social life, about the grades they bring home, about their future career and prospects. None of the above meets the adolescent where they are, or truly sees them! The obsessive thoughts we run through our heads are, lets admit it, mostly about us... Why they wouldn't talk to us? Are we bad parents? Have we done something wrong? Would they grow up to be professional/successful/married/divorced like us? We are so busy worrying about how our adolescent child's behavior reflects on us as parents, on our parenting skills, on our ability to raise young people that would mirror our values to the world, that we forget to see them...! We mistake Worry for Care... We confuse our self esteem with theirs, and miss seeing them in the process! What can we do differently? As always, we need to start with self exploration, with a deep inquiry into who we each were as an adolescent girl, an adolescent boy, what did we need then from our parents (as oppose to what we need now from our children). Remember how misunderstood you felt by Mom or Dad? How distant they felt to you? Get into the skin of the adolescent you once were and find out what might have felt better at the time? What could have your Mom or Dad say or do, which would have given you a feeling of being seen, heard, and met? Then, turn around and give this to your adolescent child! You will be watering many fruit trees with one watering can! Your own Inner Adolescent would be soothed in the process; You will stop worrying about your child and start making a real connection; Your child may start feeling seen and acknowledged, and may even begin to think of you as a cool parent! (and wasn't this what you wanted all along?)

_________________________________

Following a Cutting Edge RITES OF PASSAGE Event

DeAnna is offering you support in

The Art of Welcoming Girls to Empowered Womanhood

A Tele-Class Starting March 2012

Click here to learn all about it!

DeAnna L’am, (B.A.) speaker, coach, and trainer, is author of Becoming Peers – Mentoring Girls Into Womanhood and A Diva's guide to Getting Your Period. She is founder of Red Moon School of Empowerment for Women & Girls™. Her pioneering work has been transforming women’s & girls' lives around the world, for over 20 years. DeAnna helps women & girls love themselves unconditionally! She specializes in helping women reclaim their cycle as source of intuition and spiritual renewal, helps Moms welcome their girls into womanhood with ease & confidence, and trains women to hold RED TENTS in their communities. Visit her at: www.deannalam.com

Making Valentine’s with Monica Ashley

Sono-Ma Holly — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:29:09 +0000

When Bryles gets home from school today we plan to gather around the kitchen-turned-craft table to create our annual Valentine cards. I noticed a "mailbox" of sorts is already waiting in his Waldorf classroom to receive his heartfelt creation. He'll make one card to place in the mailbox, and his teacher will ensure that each child goes home with a lovely Valentine. So...what shall we make as the sure to be treasured, single card one of his friends will take home? What other cards or small gifts might we make to bestow on family members or teachers? I've got a few good ideas thanks to Monica Ashley, fiber artist, doll maker, and craft teacher extraordinaire. Last week, Monica brought a few gals together to begin our seasonal crafts. We made traditional cards (as shown above), but we also made a few less conventional gifts for our sweeties. Here are some of the wonderful creations that came out of our experience: Christy wrapped a vintage wooden spool in green flat felt and then a few wisps of wool roving. Top it off with a Meyer Imports' mushroom in the holiday color scheme, and she's got a perfect gift for her wee, fairy loving daughter... Kosima decided to make another felt fruit item for her kids who love playing "kitchen." This time she didn't use an etsy pattern -- she created her own instead. Making the cherries out of little heart cut-outs, they now will fit right in as a Valentine's day treasure. Monica and Annalyce took the time to finish up incomplete projects planned for other holidays. Remember that Waldorf doll you had wanted to finish in time for Solstice? What about that gift you were making for a friend's birthday. Valentine's Day (or Easter!) could be your just the occasion you need to light your fire and get the project done. Surprise! The doll Monica was working on was a belated gift for Kosima's birthday. She was thrilled to take home this adorable little gnome. Whatever you feel inspired to create, your friends and family are sure to feel touched by your hand made gift. Get creative and have fun!

More on Monica Ashley

Monica Ashley is a fiber artist and mother of three. Monica revels in passing along the delight of designing with wool, and offers classes (complete with supplies) to both children and adults through her studio and local crafting stores such as Cast Away Yarn Shop. Many local families know Monica through her involvement in the Waldorf community where she has served as a homes chool teacher, tutor, and handwork skills instructor. “Monica is an incredibly patient and thorough teacher. She is gentle and encouraging – just what I needed!” shares Annalyce La Source. Meet Monica and find your inner crafter by signing up for her next class at Cast Away:

When: Fri, March 2, 5:30pm – 7:30pm

Where: Cast Away Yarn Shop (map)

Description:

Friday Felting for Adults. We will be needle felting animals. You can choose a duck or a rabbit for Easter or any other animal. Cost of $37 includes all materials.

Flowers Anyone? This Valentine’s Day Choose Local, Organic Dragonfly Farm in Healdsburg

Sono-Ma Holly — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:18:36 +0000

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Will you be surprising someone you love with an armful of flowers? Or are you hoping someone will plan a special delivery for you? I hope you'll consider placing your order with my friends over at Dragonfly Farm.

"Commercially grown roses just don't smell as wonderful as organic roses..." shares Carlisle, mother to a wee one and florist extraordinaire. I spent years trailing Carlisle around Dragonfly's farm off West Side Road in Healdsburg, and I can affirm that her flowers are intoxicating. With more than 1500 roses on their six acre paradise, the scent and the colors are simply awe inspiring. Tour the farm one day and look for the rows of coral colored roses - who knew roses could be orange-colored and smell like honey?

Still, most local roses are hardly in bloom during the dreary month of February. Fortunately, Dragonfly's arrangements pull from a vast array of seasonal flowers. "We grow an enormous selection of plants - each carefully chosen for form, texture, fragrance and color. The gardens' variety and abundance allows us to produce wonders at almost any time of year." (A cluster of daffodils showed their heads earlier this week - photo above.)

While the roses and fresh cut flowers are a true treat, the practical side of me would really rather receive a potted plant or living arrangement. Dragonfly's offerings in this department are truly divine as well. "We offer natural and uncontrived floral service," says Carlisle. In the photo below, Bonnie (Carlisle's mother) expertly winds vines and tucks moss into soil to form a heart shaped base for some wonderful creation...

Valentine's Day Orders

Dragonfly offers floral arrangements, flowers by the stem, vases, live plants and other creative valentine's gifts. "If you know what you want, call ahead and we'll have it ready 707.433.3739 (or we can deliver). If you have no idea, come by and we'll help you figure it out!" says Carlisle. She also notes Dragonfly can help you place flower delivery orders out of the area. Valentine's Day is Tuesday February 14th - Dragonfly's shop is open from 10:00am-5:00pm through the big day. On-line orders can be placed here: www.DragonflyFloral.com

More about Dragonfly

"Dragonfly is a unique and magical place. We are an organic flower farm, located in the Dry Creek Valley in Healdsburg California. We are also a florist, offering natural and uncontrived floral services. Dragonfly Farm is rare in that in 1990 we yanked out 6 acres of grapes. Needless to say this caused quite a stir. In doing so we have created a haven for birds, butterflies, occasionally dragonfly flies, and various other critters amongst the ever-changing array of sustainably and organically grown flora and fauna." (via Dragonfly Floral website) Dragonfly Floral 425 Westside Road Healdsburg, California 95448 707.433.3739 www.DragonflyFloral.com For an instant visual tour, view the photos on their blog here: http://www.dragonflyhealdsburg.com/dragonfly-farm-blog.html

Make a “Heavy Baby” with Waldorf Educator Grandma Mary February 12 and 19, 2012

Sono-Ma Holly — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:42:25 +0000

Local Waldorf trained teacher, Mary Bowen, invites you to attend a special doll making workshop February 12 or February 19, 2012.

"Last year I attended a dollmaking class in Santa Cruz and learned to make what is called a "heavy baby"....they are filled with millet and lavender! I am very excited about these dolls! They are very healing," shares Mary exuberantly.

Mary's granddaughter agrees that these heavy babies magnetically call to be held. "She immediately adopted the one I made...She carries it all over on her back and front and sleeps with it..." Adults too can benefit from holding these lovely, soft, and weighty "babies." Dolls can offer comfort, create a space for people to show vulnerability, and hold intentions. (Read more about this concept in Sono-Ma's interview about soul-filled dolls with Christine Schreier - another local Waldorf doll maker.) Plan for a day of laughter, story-telling, and old-fashioned hand sewing. Then take home your own handmade creation, and continue the joy. "I thoroughly enjoyed your class...what a treat for me. You are like an angel and I hope to have many more interactions with you. When I got home on Sunday I brought the doll into the house in a blanket and my girls fell in love. My older daughter wanted it right away and then handed it to my youngest daughter to hold for a bit. They have been rocking her, singing to her...it's very sweet. The only problem is that they are having trouble sharing her. They each had one night sleeping with the doll. I am hoping to take another class with you next month." Cara, former class participant.

Class Details

Date: Saturday, February 12 and February 19, 2012 (This is a two day class.) Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Location: Santa Rosa Fee: $100.00 including supplies RSVP: Mary Bowen at 707.542.1523 Further Details: Email Mary at nurturingarts@sonic.net

Additional Doll Making Classes with Grandma Mary

Mary often offers handwork classes. Consider hiring Mary to help you and your friends craft a Waldorf doll, doll clothes, wool angels, "boo-boo babies" or other creations under Grandma Mary's wing. You'll have the support of an experienced hand-work mentor who expertly weaves Waldorf parent education into her teaching. Earning her name as "Grandma Mary", Mary uses her kinds words, gentle smile, and supportive ear to help you create a beautiful, simple doll while simultaneously allowing you a safe space to explore the challenges of parenting and meeting a child's developmental needs.

Doll Making Summer Camp

At the closing of each summer, Grandma Mary offers a special doll making camp for children aged 10 and older. Combining a daily rhythm with time for imaginative play, hand sewing, singing, and playing, Mary gently guides children in bringing a traditional Waldorf doll to life while developing strengths such as self confidence. The week-long experience culminates in a sixth day celebration designed for the whole family. This celebration includes clothes making and a birthday party for the dolls. See a previous summer's brochure here. Be sure to let Grandma Mary know you'd like to be on her list for this summer's potential camp by emailing her here.

More Playtime by David Anglada Figueroa, Director of Mental Health Services

Sono-Ma Holly — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:18:32 +0000

Busy parents are often tempted to use the TV as a babysitter for small children. But research has found that children below two years old get much more healthy stimulation from simple play.

Instead of turning on the TV next time, try involving your child in an activity similar to what you are doing that will keep him busy “playing grown-up.” For example, my friend Carol’s 14-month-old grandson has a small cupboard in the kitchen that is filled with plastic storage containers. While mom and dad cook, he gets out his bowls and lids and a big spoon and stirs and bangs. When they’re ready for dinner, all his “cooking” toys go back in the cupboard until next time. Other simple ideas and games kids under two can do while parents are occupied include playing with musical toys, blocks, or balls, and many other activities that don’t require much parental time or money to set up. Of course, the best activities to build strong relationships and develop your baby’s brain are those she can do with you: playing together, singing or simply talking together, and reading books. These activities stimulate healthy and happy development in ways that television can’t.

--- David Anglada Figueroa (Director of Mental Health Servcices for Southwest Health Center) for Hand in Hand, a Project of First 5 Sonoma County. For more information, visit handinhandfirst5.org.

* Note: Many Sono-Ma families are striving for a media-free childhood for children of all ages. Click here to read more "unplugging" and the potential benefits for your family.

Flavorstitch Shares Seasonal Recipe: Immune Boosting Smoothie

Sono-Ma Holly — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:45:08 +0000

Selena Cate brings her vintage flair, larger than life photography, and food adoration back to Sono-Ma readers today. Enjoy a sneak peak of her tantalizing food blog, Flavorstitch, with this seasonal "Immune Boosting Smoothie" recipe:

It feels like mid winter as I hear people around me coughing and sneezing up and down the aisles of the grocery store. For what feels like a month now, I’ve been at home nursing two sick children. My 12 year old daughter Cerys was very sick a week ago so I created this Immune Boosting Smoothie to help her get through the worst of it.

Juice of 3 oranges
1/3 cup frozen blueberries
1/3 cup frozen peaches
1 tablespoon Flax Seed Oil
1 scoop of Carlson Labs Vit C Crystals
1 tincture Super Lysine + Liquid Extract

This healing smoothie blends up perfectly and has the right amount of sweetness to be a nice treat when you are sick. As a disclaimer, please check with your doctor before taking any supplements. We use Carlson Labs Vit C instead of a product like Emergen-C. I find it better for making the immune system stronger because there are not any added ingredients such as fructose. What’s your favorite healing supplement to add to a smoothie? **Amazon Affiliated Link included in this post helps support Flavorstitch.

Rites of Passage: How Does One Become An Adult?

DeAnna Lam — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:58:31 +0000

How does one become an adult? Well, mostly by imitation... I grew up in a household of two (heavy) cigarette-smoking, coffee-drinking parents. For me, this was the epitome of adulthood... And when I started smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee, at the age of seventeen, I felt that I have arrived! The “arrival” was not celebrated in any way. However my Dad, who used to buy cigarettes in cartons (for him and my Mom) added a few packs to the family monthly cigarette shopping, on my behalf. I was given the stamp of approval: I belonged. And isn't this what Rites of Passage are all about? Arriving, belonging, getting in par with the adult world around us, which was mostly beyond our reach as children, and is now accepting us as rightful members. Indigenous cultures similarly rewarded their youth with belonging and acceptance, only that their requirements were far more meaningful. Youth were given a multitude of things that our young lack today: - Spiritual guidance from an early age, toward discovering the gift one was born to bring to their community - Active mentors who fostered different skills in a youth, each bestowing their own gifts on their young protegee - A prescribed set of challenges that will stretch a youth beyond their comfort zone, and will call them to find within them the ability to endure, overcome, and emerge triumphantly - A tradition of Spiritual Eldering designed to pass on wisdom and knowledge from one generation to the next - A tight knit community that is eager to collectively honor and celebrate all milestones in an individual's life In contrast, the guidance I received, growing up, consisted of explicit messages, overt assistance, and covert expectations, all directed toward achieving high grades at school, an academic degree, and a career that will guarantee enough money to ensure a secure retirement. There was no conscious guidance toward grounded, balanced, intentional adulthood, and in its absence I could only imitate what I saw around me. It took many years of unlearning (including quitting cigarette-smoking and coffee-drinking) to develop a sense of deeper meaning in my life. Deeper meaning is what the youth search for. The need we have as young human beings, while transforming from childhood to adulthood, is for meaningful challenges that will help us prove to ourselves that we are courageous and worthy; role models that will inspire us to strive, and communities that will accept us as equals. In the absence of such cultural offerings, the youth of each generation will devise their own tests that would lead them to become accepted by their tribe. For me, it was cigarettes and coffee that made me feel grown up and ultimately belong. For many today it is gang activity or teen pregnancy. These are the shadow manifestations of an authentic need. They seemingly include every element of traditional rites of passage: - Going beyond one's comfort zone to prove worthiness (gang activity and teen sex) - Performing daring acts that lead to approval (in the eyes of gang members, or boyfriend/girlfriend) - Ultimate acceptance or belonging (this last one applies to gang members but hardly ever to girls who get pregnant. They often end up shunned by both their boyfriend and their family) This grim picture only exists because we, as a society, abdicated our responsibility to our young! It is in our hands to restore the picture to its natural balance. It is our (exciting!) task to rally around our young in meaningful ways, to provide them with meaningful challenges that will stretch them positively, and to receive them as equals when they triumphantly emerge from their trials. _________________________________

To learn more about transitions into adulthood, DeAnna invites you to a cutting edge Tele-Summit:

RITES OF PASSAGE – Skillfully Guiding Girls to Womanhood & Boys to Manhood

http://www.ritesofpassageevent.com/

A 2-week virtual conference (to which you can listen from the comfort of your own phone) filled with exciting speakers, such as:

* Internationally acclaimed author & lecturer Marianne Williamson
* New Yourk Times best seller author Michael Gurian
* Internationaly renowned herbalist Susun Weed

and an array of speakers, each an expert in their field, who will share with you words of wisdom, inspirational guidance, and practical tools to apply with your Tweens & Teens right away! Online Event Dated are: Monday-Friday, February 6 - 10 & 13-17 DeAnna L’am, (B.A.) speaker, coach, and trainer, is author of Becoming Peers – Mentoring Girls Into Womanhood and A Diva's guide to Getting Your Period. She is founder of Red Moon School of Empowerment for Women & Girls™. Her pioneering work has been transforming women’s & girls' lives around the world, for over 20 years. DeAnna helps women & girls love themselves unconditionally! She specializes in helping women reclaim their cycle as source of intuition and spiritual renewal, helps Moms welcome their girls into womanhood with ease & confidence, and trains women to hold RED TENTS in their communities. Visit her at: www.deannalam.com

Whole Foods Encourages Families to Stock Healthy Pantries – Give Aways Included

Sono-Ma Holly — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:19:59 +0000

The New Year has a us thinking about a renewed focus on health. Not only is our family finding more ways to work in daily exercise (thanks to tips from Dufloth's Outdoor Family Fitness), we are also having fun refreshing our commitments around food. On Sundays we crowd together on the couch to pour over simple recipe ideas from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, while we fill in our weekly menu and shopping list. Although we'll take inspiration from a recipe like "Sizzling Beef with Scallions", we allow our weekly box of fresh vegetables from Singing Frogs Farms to dictate which vegetables fill out the dish. We also find that having a good pantry stocked with versatile ingredients - rice, quinoa, oats, coconut oil and walnuts to name a few - makes it easy to create flavorful and nutritious dishes. Ready to get inspired to load your pantry with nutrituos staples? You'll find it is wonderful to have healthful ingredients at the ready come meal time. Whole Foods Market and Sono-Ma also hope to tempt you into action by offering you a chance to win a pantry-stocking gift card. Read on for ideas, tips and contest details!

Easy, Healthy Ingredients on Hand for Quick Meals

When my boy, Bryles, wakes up at 5:00 a.m. declaring his hunger, quick and easy oatmeal is my savior. Nourishing Traditions inspired our family to always have a bowl of oats soaking in whey and water on our counter. These pre-soaked oats cook up in minutes. I pull out our raw milk, butter, and syrup and give him the privilege of topping his own grains. (Yes, I watch him carefully with the syrup. But you should see how excited he gets to pour and chop on his own!) I grab my own bowl and layer on the walnuts, brewer's yeast and dried fruit. Bryles will later eat soaked rice or quinoa for lunch at school. He'll be served grains, pumpkin seeds, and brewer's yeast for toppings. He enjoys it so much, I try to have it on hand for our lunch-time meals at home. I opt to serve him quinoa as it is loaded with the protein my growing boy needs. I also toss in our fresh CSA vegetables - like this season's tasty broccoli - to round out the meal. Bryles will eat the broccoli, too, although much more willingly if I top it with some of our homemade mayo (made with extra virgin cold pressed olive oil) inspired again by a Nourishing Traditions recipe. Come the afternoon, we are sourcing our pantry for healthy snacks again. We might choose to make stove-top popped corn (drizzled in butter and sprinkled with sea salt) and smoothies. Our smoothie will feature raw milk and frozen or fresh fruit....and it gets fortified with some pantry items, too! We add in local coconut oil, organic walnuts, and other nutritive fats or super foods. Another good option is a carob energy cube - this is considered as good as a chocolate bar at 3:00 pm at our house. Then, at dinner, we are ready for soaked beans and more grains as well as our meats and fresh veggies. Again, pantry items like nuts, seeds, and oils are handy for boosting flavor, omega's, fats and proteins in our dishes.

Pantry Shopping List

We keep our pantry stocked by shopping at Whole Foods. I appreciate their clear labeling, which helps me purchase Local and Gluten-free items. I also love the fact that I am welcomed to bring my own mason jars to stock up on bulk items. The mason jars cut down on the waste our family produces, and shopping in the bulk department saves a considerable amount of money. (To use your own packaging, simply stop by the "Guest Services" counter and ask for tare weights to be written on your jars or bags.) Here is our family's list of suggestions for creating your own pantry-stocking shopping list.

* Celctic Sea Salt (or other mineral salt)
* 1 lb black beans
* 1 lb lentils
* 1 lb quinoa
* 2 lbs brown rice
* 1 lb rolled oats
* Organic Maple Syrup
* Brewer's Yeast
* Organic Walnuts
* Organic Pumpkin Seeds
* 1 lb cannellini beans
* 1 lb quionoa pasta
* 1 package no-oil sun-dried tomatoes
* Organic Coconut Milk
* Energy cubes
* Organic Popcorn
* Extra Virgin, Cold Pressed, Organic Olive Oil (Local options at Whole Foods Coddingtown)
* Organic Coconut Oil, Cold Pressed (Local options at Whole Foods Coddingtown)

Whole Foods gifted our family $50 to take the pantry challenge, and I was truly surprised at what we were able to bring home. With prices such as $1.64 cents for a jar filled with black beans, we filled our shelves in no time.

Contests, Contests and More Contests!

Ready to tackle your pantry? Sono-Ma and Whole Foods has a $50 gift card to help you with your task. Simply leave a comment below before midnight on January 29th to enter to win. Tell your friends about the contest by linking to this article and pick up an extra raffle entry (mention your Social Networking in your comment.) Whole Foods also plans dishing fun rewards via two other on-line contests: Customers can win pantry staples for a year by entering online at the Whole Foods Market, Whole Story Blog. The deadline is January 31 - so hurry to enter now. In addition folks can win a $50 "Pantry Re-fresh" by signing up for Whole Foods Market Coddingtown's e-mail newsletter in-store or from WFM Coddingtown's Facebook page. One local winner is selected every week. Remember - everyone wins who stocks a healthy pantry!

New Year New Camera with Mariah Smith and Mama Shots

Sono-Ma Holly — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:26:02 +0000

Mariah Smith wants to know, "Did you received a new camera for Christmas?" This mama and professional photographer has made an art of helping to explain photography – beginning with how to use your camera. Want to know how to actually use that fancy camera? Mariah will teach you the ins and outs of your digital SLR (the ones where the lenses come off). You can finally figure out what all those little buttons do and why you’d ever want to touch one. She'll also help you learn where the light is, and how to use it to capture quality images. This new skill will take your photography to another level. Then, she'll guide you in how to use Photoshop Elements to edit and print gorgeous prints. Finally, she'll share her expertise in how to do the "art part" of telling a story with photography.

Mama Shots Workshop

February 21 - March 13 7:00 - 9ish pm Sebastopol Studio

take 1, 2, 3 or the whole series....

your fancy camera, simplified ~ 2/21

star light, star bright - how to use light ~ 2/28

now what? photoshop elements tips & tricks ~ 3/6

the art part ~ 3/13

Each class is 2 hours of interactive, individual & fun instruction on the most important aspects of photography. Learn a lot one night, practice all week and come back with all your questions! Take it with a friend and have a partner to experiment with. For maximum photog knowledge, take all for classes for only $199. If you just want to take 1 or 2, the first one is $69 and each additional is $49. Quite a little bargain! Don't forget to order your Workshop Workbook! It's full of presentation slides for future reference (trust me, it's a great thing to have around when I'm not there) and plenty of room for notes. At only $25, it's a must have!

Registration Dates

Mariah Smith Photography clients CAN REGISTER NOW!

Students registering for the entire series OPENS ON 1/17

Students registering for individual classes OPENS ON 2/7

For more info or to regist, visit Mama Shots Workshops. For updates and spcial offers be sure and like the new Mariah Smith Photography page on Facebook.

More about Mariah Smith

Mariah Smith is a well known mom-prenuer who was recently featured in the North Bay Business Journal. Sono-Ma loves that she is passionate about home births, which she hopes to write a book about one day. Mariah is also a breastfeeding advocate as evidienced by the breastfeeding gallery she created for the Sono-Ma Support Tent - a family oasis offered at local festivals. You'll also find her giving back by shooting photos for "Little Troopers" or the "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" family-support organizations. When it comes to describing her photography... "The images she creates during an unscripted family portrait session are unmatched. Mariah has an innate ability to connect with her subject and produce images that are as genuine to the subject as they are beautiful. She brings this skill to her scripted & commercial work as well. If you ever take one of her workshops, she’ll talk to you about “falling a little bit in love with your subject”. Mariah studies each & every subject and always finds at least one thing that she loves…whether it’s the shape of the vase, the way the 3 yr old crosses her ankles when she sits or the contrast of the dark truffle on the creamy brie. When she finds what she loves, she focuses on that and uses her camera to share that beauty with you." (via Mariah Smith About Page)