Posts from the “Uncategorized” Category

Guess Who’s Back? (back again) Meal Prep’s back. (tell a friend)

Posted on September 26, 2022

Buckle up because it is technically Fall and it is Sunday and that means I’m meal prepping and planning and cooking and everything in between today. If you need some inspiration like I always do, let’s just go ahead and dive in, shall we? I went ahead and prepped for the week because who has time to cook during the week? I’ll wait. Nope, me either. Does my meal prep take a lot of time on a Sunday? Sure, but that’s how I have to do it, which may be different than what you need to do. That’s a beautiful thing. It takes all of us to get through a week, right? So here’s the plan:

Breakfasts

Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Bread and Muffin Mix (I chose muffins and added dark chocolate chips)
Trader Joe’s Vegetable Hash with scrambled eggs
Trader Joe’s Buttermilk Biscuits
(this post is not sponsored by Trader Joe’s, but maybe it should be?)
Sweet Potato Toasts with avocado + eggs (for me) (and btw, the toasts should be thicker)
Bacon

Lunches

Spinach, Quinoa, and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Sunflower Seeds and Lemon Tahini dressing
Leftovers

Dinner

Sunday: Fish tacos, cole slaw, rice, and black beans (I got it all done but none of us ate it tonight)
Monday: Hopefully, Gran will come to the rescue since we have a work event
Tuesday: Steak Tips, rice, peas, and Trader Joe’s Aloha Rolls
Wednesday: I got a request to make what Chef Ama made at Camp Grow this Summer! Though I wish I could pretend that I am as talented as Chef Ama, I decided to get some frozen meatballs from Trader Joe’s, add some Rao’s pasta sauce, and call it a day. And… the kids absolutely noticed. Help, Chef Ama!
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Let’s just see how the week worked out, shall we?

Extra

I also decided to make a few items for back up. Don’t we all need a back up?
1. 99% ground turkey with less sodium taco seasoning (3 pounds) for my favorite turkey bowls, the kids’ favorite nachos, and quick taco salads

2. Banana Oatmeal Cookies (I had two rotten bananas and I found this 3-ingredient recipe)

Snacks:

I will be snacking on fresh fruit, That’s It, 2Good Vanilla Yogurt, boiled eggs, and Skinny Pop (White Cheddar, please).

Obsessed

I discovered these new YouTube channels and can’t stop watching them:
Good Eatings
Jess Beautician
Cecilia Blomdahl

I think that’s about all for this week. I was so inspired these food blogs, and favorite things lists, and youtube channels that I decided to make my own little centerpiece (if you know me, you know that this happens once every ten years). My 7-year-old thought we needed a wee bit more drama.

Wishing all of you a wonderful week ahead. Next Sunday I definitely will not cook this much.

Categories: Family, Prioritizing Me, Recipes, Uncategorized

Tagged: Meal Planning, meal prep

Yes, I’ve Lost Weight, but I’ve Also Gained Much More.

Posted on September 19, 2022

It is no surprise that my personal blog involves food given its name and that’s because I believe wholeheartedly that food is the foundation for so many things in our lives. And just like anything, our dependency on it can get a but out of whack at times. Just look through my pages and you will see vastly different posts about the different ways food influences me. From finding Jones Valley Teaching Farm to adapting my diet when I got gestational diabetes during pregnancy to my love of cooking to my Weight Watchers stint to everything in between. My work is about food. My hobbies are closely tied to food. We mourn, celebrate, heal, comfort, and care for each other with food. And we have to have it to survive. So for those of us who have a tendency to SWING on our own little wrecking balls (okay, maybe pendulum is a better description?), food can sometimes swing right along with us.

Let’s go back to 2019, shall we? It was an interesting time on that pendulum. I launched a capital campaign at Jones Valley Teaching Farm to build a sustainability plan for the organization — buying the downtown campus and then building a Center for Food Education on it. I had two kids in elementary school. Then…COVID hits. Just as most of you did, I put my head down and laser-focused on just getting through. The kids had to learn. The organization had to survive (after all, we were BUILDING A FACILITY during COVID so, you know, no pressure). The food we grew on our farms had to get to people. The kids we taught through our Good School Food educational model needed us. And there was this virus circulating that nobody knew anything about. And so, I did the best I could with what I knew then. I think most of us did.

When I looked up in February 2022, I could see and feel the toll those years took. I didn’t feel good most days, but I put on a good show. I was worried about the level of lemon pepper chicken wings fried hard with ranch dressing I was consuming on the regular. I was consuming more than my fair share of adult beverages . I was avoiding decisions that needed to be made across so many levels. I forced myself to look up and out. It wasn’t easy.

I took a two day retreat gifted to me and spent two nights at Pursell Farms and made a decision to change. I called Christiana who I had secretly watched for 4 years lose weight and keep it off. Truth be told, I was just waiting on her to gain it back and she NEVER did. So, I called her and I said, “Whatever you did, sign me up coach!”

A week later, my Optavia box arrived and I committed to just ONE month and in that one month I lost 15 pounds. Now, here’s where I know you are going and I was right there with you, so there is NO shame in that game. Did I think it was a hoax? Yep. Did I have trouble explaining this to people — me, the person that runs an organization that grows food — who will suddenly be eating packaged food mailed to my door? Yes, I did. But here’s the thing: In all of that was a hidden desire to change. I also made the decision to shift my adult beverage consumption and when I say shift, I mean not have any at all (by the way, this is not a requirement to do Optavia).

Did I hear the concerns? Yep. Did I question this decision? Of course. But, here’s what I also knew: I could NOT continue to funnel lemon pepper chicken wings fried hard with ranch at the levels I was consuming. That wasn’t working either. So, how could I question this program if I was actively engaging in large levels of consumption that also wasn’t doing me any favors?

I had to reset, restart, relearn, re-everything. And I did. I never once got off plan for 6 months. There was something about the discipline and structure that I needed — for my health, but also for my clarity and work and home life. Here’s how it went: Well, I can’t because… COVID. Well, I can’t because… I’m busy. Well, I can’t because… life.

I’ve lost 54 pounds since February 6th. I have not had a sip of an adult beverage since then. On this plan, you have to eat every 2.5-3 hours, five of those times are a fueling provided to you and you learn to make one lean and green meal a day. Even though I can honestly say the weight loss has been motivating, I’m here to tell you I’ve gained so much more than just that.

I found myself making everyone’s meals first and me snacking (more like scavenging) at the kitchen island. I tried the mantra, “You are not a garbage disposal, Amanda” but somehow that never really clicked. I was eating stale goldfish (the snack, thank you very much) for no reason, random turkey pepperonis that fell off someone’s plate, and left over peanut butter found on spoons left and right. I was taking meetings during lunch and barely eating, never drinking enough water, never actually visiting the restroom because of the water situation, and just running running running until I could get home to raid the stale goldfish and my glass of wine. Brilliant plan.

Let me tell you what forcing yourself to commit to 5 small meals a day every 2.5 hours does for you: It forces you to prioritize YOUR needs first and foremost. I got used to pulling out my bar to eat in the middle of a meeting or fill up my water bottle (did I mention you need to drink at least 100 ounces of water a day?), and I had to LEAVE MEETINGS TO GO TO THE BATHROOM because…well, water. I had more energy. I was sleeping better. My skin looked better. I was fueling and keeping to a schedule. Most importantly, I was re-imagining how to center MY needs in EACH day. That may be something you already do and congratulations if so, but for me, this was a complete game changing moment.

It was weird. There were really awkward times. I fumbled all over myself to make these choices and gave too much info to friends, hosts, waiters, and chefs (note to self: turn the glass over if you keep getting asked if you’d like wine over and over and over again at a dinner). I traveled with my waffle maker, fuelings, and tablespoons on every trip. I stayed focused even when a lot of people didn’t want me to (remember when I said I second-guessed my own coach for years?). I get it.

We are entering a new journey on Food Revival — one that involves growth and change (that’s nothing new, right?). If you noticed, I didn’t really blog about it this time. I would answer the question if asked, but I didn’t spill my guts on social media or my blog. It feels a bit strange to be doing it now, but I’m learning that it’s important to tell your experience because you never know who is sitting in a room like I was ready to make a change. Oh, I’m also coaching a few folks now and it’s been a gift to share what I’ve learned.

This is where I am today. I made some pretty big decisions to change my routines and choices. I started working on focus and consistency and discipline (which are all in the bottom five of my Clifton Strengths Finder results, by the way). I am most proud of my decision to choose me — even when it was hard — because if I don’t do it, who will?

I’m starting my transition to exercise and maintenance this week, which is a big deal and it has me in my feelings a bit. You see, the pendulum can still be an issue for me and I’m really working on that balance part — not having anything be so extreme that I’m constantly swinging back and forth. For example, it can’t be me with my head in a bowl of queso every night to a ground turkey bowl every night. I’m seeking to find where to land in all of it and maybe that will also be helpful to you?

We don’t really talk about how COVID affected every part of our lives and bodies and minds. We should. It was (and is) hard. We did the best we could with what we knew then. As Dr. Maya Angelou says, now that we know better, we can do better. I’m trying to do better.

Categories: Uncategorized

Things that are reviving me…

Posted on September 5, 2022

The last time I wrote on my blog was a little over a year ago and things have definitely changed since then. Maybe I’ll talk about that later, but for now I’m just going to post some of the things that have been reviving me lately: Recipes I have a food routine these days and it includes 5 fuelings and 1 Lean and Green meal. More on that later (maybe). One of the things that has stuck for me is being consistent, structured, committed, and being less afraid of a tried and true routine. My go-to dinner includes: 7 ounces of 99% fat free ground turkey breast with low sodium taco seasoning, 1 cup butter lettuce, 1 cup of cauliflower rice, Bitchin’ Sauce, and…

Categories: Uncategorized

Birthday Boat Ride

Posted on July 27, 2021

My parents divorced when I was 3 and so I spent every other weekend and every Wednesday of my life with my Dad. Or thereabouts. When I was super young, he lived at Peachtree Apartments and it was there that I practically lived at the pool. I drank Barqs Root Beer from the coke machine, swam more hours than I could possibly count, went to wrestling matches at the Municipal Auditorium on Wednesday nights, and ate mustard and/or cheese sandwiches (Daddy wasn’t much for keeping anything stocked for my visits besides the basics. Oh, and Hamburger Helper).

A little later, we moved to a mobile home in Harris County where I used to jump in the back of the pickup truck bed for our 30 minute ride from town and I’d watch the clouds and the big sky. We trained my pet rabbits how to walk on a leash (all Daddy’s idea), and I learned to shoot beer cans with a BB gun. It is also the same time Daddy confessed to buying a boat at a boat show. Now that’s an entirely different story and one that may have included some of those beer cans I mentioned before.

Lake Oliver wasn’t far away from our mobile home, so we spent a good amount of time attempting to get the dang boat TO the water. We hopped over curbs, scraped up the sides, and almost lost the boat a time or two (again, don’t ask). I made a habit of sitting in the front seat of the boat (left side) while parked in Daddy’s driveway and hoped he would figure out why in the world we have a boat sitting in our front yard.

Some years went by and that’s when I got another call from Daddy. This time with an even BIGGER move: We were moving to Lake Harding. Daddy found a house right on this peninsula off the Long Bridge. Our small 2BR /2BA house had water on both sides. He planted fruit trees and day lilies (stella d’oro to be specific), tended to his garden, and we started this new phase of our life.

It wasn’t perfect by a long shot. None of it. But, when I was on that boat sitting in the front (on the left side) with the wide open water ahead of me, none of it mattered. You lose time on a lake. Time just passes and in many cases, that was just what I needed as Daddy and I tried to figure out time and time again how to do the Father/Daughter dance as I kept growing up. It wasn’t perfect by a long shot. None of it.

On the water I was free. I loved hearing our boat slow to an idle and the sound it made when it would hit the waves just right. The sound of my Dad’s truck’s wheels turning on the gravel parking lot and the sound of the boat trailer’s wheels backing in the water. I secretly loved getting a whiff of my Dad’s cigarette smoke while speeding across the lake. Those cigarettes caused way more complications down the road, but it’s how I knew he was there if that makes sense.

Lake life for me was totally normal. I’d take off on the wave runner by myself. I loved finding a quiet slough or waterway where nobody went so I could watch the wave runner cut the water like glass. I also loved being WIDE open in the middle of the big water where all the boats were. And especially all those waves. The perfect mix of being alone and surrounded by people, but not having to say a word.

The lake is where I learned to face my fears and I learned to ski. I learned to drop a ski and then to slalom. I learned to feel safe in something that felt way too big, which is still a struggle. I learned how to spend time with my Dad by not saying a word and just riding in that damn boat for hours. That worked for us. Probably because words and emotions were too hard.

And so we rode on the boat and we were quiet. Or, we’d turn up the music and he’d dance and embarrass me. More often than not, he’d stop at different homes to hang out with his friends and though I loved his friends, those stops always signified the end of our easy, not-having-to-say-anything-but-just-being-together time. It wasn’t perfect by a long shot. He wasn’t. I wasn’t. I think deep down I always just wanted my Dad to know and see me. The me that was free on the lake. The me that said all the things I wanted to say to him out on that big open water but couldn’t say it to his face. It could be a lot.

In between the “a lot,” Daddy was sure to have a HUGE pot of boiled peanuts waiting for me and I’d eat them until I felt sick. When I think about the lake, I think of Peach Nehi, boiled peanuts, and vinegar and salt potato chips.

My Dad died in early February 2014 in his bedroom in that same house on that lake. I wasn’t there. From his house, you could see the Long Bridge, which was the perfect landmark to describe where my Dad lived. Our lawn was the perfect place to watch fireworks on holidays. So, when I had to go back to the house in mid-March to collect a box of my photos, my grandmother’s crocheted blanket, and a few other items left behind — I took this photo.

Somehow I knew it would be the last time I’d be there and that this was a goodbye. What I didn’t expect is that I would be willing to say goodbye to that entire experience by not setting foot on a boat to confront those feelings in almost 7 years. Maybe I was scared it would make me confront the hard feelings attached to the big, open water? The not-perfect-by-a-long-shot part. Maybe it was because I didn’t know how to BE on the water without my Dad? Phew. A lot to unpack here.

Today I am 44 years old and yesterday a dear friend invited me and my kiddos for a boat ride. On a big lake. In a pontoon boat like my Dad’s. This was a first boat ride EVER for both of my kids which seems so impossible that they aren’t connected to the very thing that meant so much to me for all of those years.

Yes, it was a different lake than the one I’d only ever known. Yes, it was a different boat. No, my Dad wasn’t there. But I was. I found that part of me that I thought had to go away because my Dad did. I found that I still need that open water to process my thoughts. I found that each of my kids resembled me as a kid — Mae wanted to go as fast as possible and Martin Everitt was a bit unsure. On the way home I stopped and got some Vinegar & Salt potato chips and I told my kids about Crazy Popa’s house and how I used to experience the lake when I was younger.

I wasn’t afraid anymore. I actually reclaimed the joy I missed all these years. It’s a funny thing what going fast on big, open water can teach you — and I’m obviously still learning.

I guess I’ll end with this…

There are painful memories associated with many things in our lives, but there’s also joy. I was so scared of the pain I might feel that I didn’t give myself a chance to nurture that part of me that NEEDED to be back on the lake. Because that’s the very place I found my strength and made peace with the things that weren’t perfect a long time ago.

My hope is that you find the strength to rediscover the thing that brings you joy and healing and care for yourself. Happy Birthday to me.

Categories: Family, Uncategorized

Tagged: Lake Harding

A Journey I Wouldn’t Trade

Posted on February 9, 2021

Way back in the late 1990s when Rolling Stone cover stories were all the rage, I decided to major in Magazine Journalism. I also decided to earn a Women’s Studies Certificate. When I announced this to my Dad he said, “Now what in the hell are you going to do with that?” and “Women’s Studies sounds like some kind of feminist or whatever they call it kind of thing – you mean to tell me you are studying women? What does that even mean?!” I was adamant that both of my focus areas would work out in the end, but if I’m being honest, I didn’t know “what in the hell I was going to do” with either one of them. You see, the…

Categories: Uncategorized

Things Reviving Me

Posted on January 20, 2021

Captivating: Imamu Room on YouTube (specifically her husband’s bento boxes for the week): Anticipating: If you have not seen Ted Lasso on AppleTV yet, please subscribe, download, and watch as many times as possible. Guess what? They are producing the second series now and I am so excited. https://tv.apple.com/us/show/ted-lasso/umc.cmc.vtoh0mn0xn7t3c643xqonfzy Loving: Garnier’s Whole Blends Legendary Olive Oil Shampoo and Conditioner. Buy it here. Laughing: Have y’all watched Pretend It’s a City on Netflix? I enjoyed it so much. Laughed so many times. Maybe you will too and that would be awesome: https://www.netflix.com/title/81078137 Celebrating: Today is Dolly Parton’s birthday. Here are some of my favorite Dolly songs: Enjoying: These falafel burgers on Alexandra’s Kitchen. I saw this recipe back in November or December and asked for…

Categories: Uncategorized

“If you can only be tall because somebody’s on their knees then you have a serious problem. And my feeling is, white people have a very very serious problem and they should start thinking about what they can do about it.” – Toni Morrison

Posted on May 29, 2020

I have been struggling with something that I could never quite explain. I haven’t been as mad and angry at Trump as a lot of other white folks. In fact, the minute I hear the words, “Did you see what Trump said…” I just go in my safe space in my head and pretend to listen. There have been times when I’ve asked myself, “Why am I not as mad as they are?” I think it is because I’ve been mad and disappointed for a long time.

Let me explain: As a young white child, I had a heart that felt different. I can’t really explain it, but I knew that I could not be satisfied with what I saw all around me. What was all around me? A lot of racism. If you look like me and choose to block that part out of your memory or have conveniently forgotten it, then I doubt we can truly move forward. So, I have to be honest and say out loud that racism has been a constant presence in my life.

I remember racist jokes at dinner tables. I remember the “n” word said around me without flinching. I remember the “white man armchair quarterback” routine every Saturday where white men were thankful ONLY on that day for black men. It’s why I hold so much anger towards football today. Can’t seem to shake my first memories of watching grown white men contradict themselves while drinking beers and eating hamburgers fresh off the grill.

And so when I see older white folks hate Trump today — the same folks that were the “older” adults that surrounded me when I was a child, I wonder, “Where were you back then?” Why did you allow for your family to talk like that in front of me? Why did you laugh at that joke? Why did you choose to ignore the hate of others when it didn’t feel popular, but you can do it now? Why did you protect your status in the workplace? Why didn’t you say enough is enough back then? Why did you leave it up to a small child to defend her heart? Why did she feel she would be disowned if she went against the white culture that created this mess in the first place? Once you saw my heart, why did you continue to disrespect me because you were “older, wiser, and flat out meaner” and continue to hurt me by egging it on and continuing to say racist things to me? Why didn’t you risk your relationships and status FOR me and FOR my friends and FOR your black neighbors? Why are you so mad now?”

Toni Morrison said in this clip:

“…don’t you understand that the people who do this thing, who practice racism, are bereft. There is something distorted abut the psyche. It’s a huge waste and it’s a corruption and a distortion. It’s like it’s a profound neurosis that nobody examines for what it is. It feels crazy. It is crazy and it leaves — it has just as much of a deleterious effect on white people and possibly equal that it does black people. I always knew that I hd the moral high-ground. All my life. I always thought those people who said I couldn’t come in the drugstore and I ad to sit in these funny places. I couldn’t go in the park.”

“…but if the racist white person, I don’t mean the person who was examining his consciousness and so on, doesn’t understand that he or she is also a race, it’s all so constructed, it’s all so made and it also has some kind of serviceability. But when you take it away, I take your race away, and there you are all strung out and all you got is your little self. And what is that? What are you without racism? Are you any good? Are you still strong? Are you still smart? Do you still like yourself? These are the questions. Part of it is, yes the victim. How terrible this feels for black people.”

“If you can only be tall because somebody’s on their knees then you have a serious problem. And my feeling is, white people have a very very serious problem and they should start thinking about what they can do about it. Take me out of it.”

“Look at it. Absolutely. Your own fears, your own history, and what you need. What do you need this for? It’s not – I said glibly a moment ago that it feels good. It must feel good otherwise they’d give it up. It’s wasteful. It costs a lot. It’s ugly. It hurts. What are you paying for that for?”

And so I guess that’s what I can say now (and this is just to white folks): How many times have you laughed at a racist joke to protect the other white person who said it instead of protecting the harm it did to others? How many times did you NOT speak out against racism when current events were talked about at the dinner table? How many times did you CHOOSE to ignore it so that you could keep your friendships and family happy with you? How many times have YOU looked the other way when someone was treated differently right in front of you? What have you risked in your life to stand up for what you say you believe now?

I remember going through a really intense “anti-racist workshop” 8 years ago. I was doing non-profit work. I was feeling really confident in how anti-racist I was. How I was different. At the very beginning of the course, the facilitator asked us all a question. He said, “How many of you are doing work in black communities?” Every single hand in that room went up. Including mine. He said, “Okay now I have a question for the white folks with your hands up.” I gulped. He said, “How many of you are speaking up at work — where decisions are made at the boardroom tables where you have a seat — and saying all that you do in our neighborhoods? Most importantly, how many of you are having those conversations at your dinner tables with your families? I appreciate the work you are doing in MY community, but what work are you doing in yours? What are you NOT willing to risk at your own tables — what are you afraid will happen?”

That one moment was life-changing for me. I realized how much work I had to do on ME first and with the people I’ve let off the hook my entire life.

And so I finally have the words. Stop wasting energy. Spend that energy figuring out why we are in this place and the role you have personally played in getting us here (and where we’ve actually always been). Spend energy listening.

Sending love right now to all of you and also thanking my Mama for giving me the space to be exactly who I needed to be — always.

Categories: Family, Southern, Uncategorized

To Gather During Quarantine? (That is the question.)

Posted on May 17, 2020

Every year in May, Jones Valley Teaching Farm‘s GATHER fundraiser happens in homes across Birmingham, Alabama. We have a GATHER Squad that meets regularly, recruits hosts, and over a few days in May, we watch as families and friends GATHER at each other’s homes for potlucks, bbq parties, cocktail hours, and seated dinners to celebrate and raise money for Jones Valley Teaching Farm. We had 20+ events scheduled for this weekend. Everything was going great and then…hashtag COVID-19, hashtag quarantine, hashtag what is happening!?!?!

Our April Twilight Supper Series Fundraising Dinner was canceled. Schools closed. Offices closed. Restaurants closed. It seemed like the world was moving in slow motion. I don’t know about you, but it took me the entire month of April to get my feet steady (and I use “steady” verrrrrrry loosely here). The GATHER weekend was around the corner and I struggled to even think how we could pull off a concept of GATHERING when we can’t be together. I struggled thinking about how to ask for donations when so many people are suffering right now. I went back and forth between canceling yet another fundraiser or choosing to re-frame it and use it as an opportunity to connect. I mean, who even has the answers these days? Not me, that’s for sure.

Three weeks ago, I went on a walk and listened to a podcast featuring Ross Gay, an author and community gardener. He said:

“I don’t know if a scientist has found this out yet, but when something good happens, do we gather around a thing? It is a feeling that I have, a deep feeling that I have, and I feel like it’s something that I witness, too, that people kind of want to share the stuff that they love.”

Yes. Exactly. We want to share the stuff we love and GATHER around it. It won’t look like our normal GATHER, but that’s okay. In a time of great uncertainty, what if I shifted my thoughts and expectations to be more about HOW we GATHER around the GOOD right now? It may not raise the same amount of money we had hoped, but what if it shared more connection and joy? What if it allowed families to spend more time together doing activities together at home? Well, here I am on the third day of our VIRTUAL GATHER experience, and I can honestly say WE ARE DOING IT!

Instead of events, people are GATHERING around our educational content we’ve been posting — trying out our recipes, making compost bins at home, growing food in NEW gardens or containers, going on scavenger hunts with their kiddos, and sharing ALL of that good stuff on social media. And yes, we are also raising money. Here are just a few examples of the love we are seeing this weekend:

97951599_3248554441830991_2614674415044001792_o

97959997_3248554578497644_7453422980610129920_o

97995775_3248553891831046_1153571655281278976_o

97983212_3248554008497701_3519507063761797120_o

97983211_3248554161831019_4038705460944044032_o

97965309_3248554291831006_2603316657497571328_o

My heart is full and because it has been such a success, we are going to keep this going throughout May! Please join us as we GATHER around Jones Valley Teaching Farm.

Our content WITH lesson plans can be found here: https://jvtf.org/our-blog/

You can also just re-post our content by sharing our Instagram posts here: @jonesvalleyteachingfarm

Our fundraising page is here:https://gather.swell.gives/

Other folks have been using the Facebook donation button and that works fine too.

In a time when the world feels so divided, it’s been refreshing to see so many people come together to support our work. It has also helped shift my own uncertainty and fear this weekend — probably when I needed it most. So full. So grateful.

Categories: Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Uncategorized

Tagged: Content, food-based education, fundraiser, Gather, Good School Food, Non-Profit, project based learning

Quarantine Discoveries: No, Video Conferencing Isn’t What’s Draining our Productivity.

Posted on May 3, 2020

This morning, I received a newsletter that I subscribe to and the subject was, “Is Video Conferencing Draining Our Productivity?” My immediate response was, “ARE YOU SERIOUS? NO NO NO. IT’S NOT THE VIDEO CONFERENCING THAT IS THE PROBLEM. IT’S THE SCARY PANDEMIC THAT MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT.” But then I opened it just to see their advice and quickly realized that it was sponsored content by a company that helps streamline remote work. So I scroll down to see how I can use their product to work better remotely: 9 templates to get ready in MINUTES. The stories under the sponsored one had titles like, “ Science-Backed Tips for Settling Into Your New Work-From-Home Routine” and “The Buy-Nothing Home Office” and “9 Tips to Perfect Your ‘Working From Home’ Morning Routine.” Gah. Blech. Eye Roll.

Then I started to ponder, “Why does this make me so mad?” and realized that all of my indignation and judgement for this newsletter was me needing to confront what was truthfully draining my productivity. Here are a few things I came up with and oddly enough NONE of them were video conferencing (shocking, I know).

Deciphering what is real and what isn’t on a daily basis.
The newsletter I referenced earlier is a perfect example of what I mean. Don’t get me wrong, this newsletter is usually a great resource that links to cool articles, but in this instance every other article linked was sponsored by a remote work from home company. I didn’t even catch the “sponsored” trick at first. Why? Because I’m tired. I don’t have the bandwidth to scour through the stupid newsletter to make sure it isn’t trying to trick me. We do this on a daily basis already thanks to the MANY outlets from which we are inundated by information and what’s best for us and who to believe. I would like — even if only ONCE—for the good, bad, and ugly to be delivered to me on a silver platter. Here it is, Amanda, and you don’t even have to wade through any of it. These are all facts. Enjoy. So, no, video conferencing isn’t really my issue right now — it’s the lack of leadership and the desire for truthful content so that I can protect my family that drains my productivity on a daily basis.

Worry
I’m worried. I mean, aren’t you? Doesn’t that drain your productivity? I spend a lot of time worrying about my kids and trying not to be aggravated as I juggle a full-time job (which I’m lucky to have) and their productivity and happiness. They have been ripped from a schedule because of some mystery virus that even adults (I use this term loosely) and leaders (also loosely) and medical professionals don’t even understand, so how in the world can little people understand? They don’t get to see their friends. They are surrounded by aggravated parents. They are aggravated with their siblings. They are confused by online learning (but probably I’m more confused than they are). And I worry that me worrying about all of this is just a moot point at the end of the day because it’s just a SMALL speck of what other families have to worry about. There are folks stuck in houses they don’t want to be in and that are dangerous for them to be in. There are children with no place to go. There are homes with no food. There are parents risking their lives on the front line every day to help and/or keep their jobs who then have to come home and potentially risk their families’ health. So yeah, I’m guessing that our productivity is drained because of all of THOSE things — not video conferencing.

But see? That’s how it worked before and that’s how we got here now. I fell for all of that. I was downloading apps to make my life easier and my life was being prescribed on a daily basis by what others thought I should do — not what I created for myself. We all were. And then the world paused and sent us to our rooms. And here we are. That’s what brings me to my next point.

What’s Next?
I’m scared that once the orders are lifted, doors start opening back up, and the hamster wheel begins slowly turning that we are going to be right back where we started. Pre-COVID-19, productivity was defined as “being busy.” At least for me it was. Jumping out of bed each morning to pack lunches, hurry through breakfast, hurrying the kids, and that once hot cup of coffee finally making it to my mouth at just the exact second it turned cold. Then it was getting dressed and feeling guilty that I didn’t get in a walk of some sort, carefully planning lunches to maintain correct calories, and checking email and phone calls while doing all of that. Then in the car where I’d spend hour after hour in meetings or traveling to and from meetings (averaging around at least 4 a day), furiously writing grants in between and checking in with staff, always always in a rush, and then finally jumping in the car to do pick up (2 kids = 2 locations). Then we’d all rush in the door, eat a frozen pizza but not all of us together, check in on homework, everyone gets baths, and then bedtime. Then we would do it all over again.

So am I really going to go back to that? I’m scared that all of this introspection will melt away, my boundaries will begin crumbling down, and my one-click response to life’s problems will reappear. Thinking about what’s next, who is in charge of my well-being and health, who is making decisions for my family and are they the right decisions to be making, and forgetting what so many families have experienced and suffered through— this is draining my productivity. I’m also furious that most people do not even have a choice in setting their own pace to live their lives in healthier ways.

Perhaps if we spent more time being truthful — even when the truth is scary — we would focus less on productivity and more on each other’s well-being.

Categories: Quarantine Discoveries, Uncategorized

Tagged: COVID-19, Productivity, Quarantine, The Great Pause, truth, Video Conferencing

The Great Pause

Posted on April 11, 2020

Anyone else out there bouncing back and forth on the pinball machine of emotion? As you can read in my previous post, the news that John Prine passed away truly brought me to my knees earlier in the week. It opened up so many emotions I’d been pushing down. Way, way, way down.

But then a lot of really good things started happening. The night after he passed, I sat in a chair in my living room with the window open, with a glass of wine, and listened to John Prine songs back to back. I haven’t done that in forever. Normally, I’d have some movie that keeps the kids interested on as background noise, but they were forced to actually play with each other in their rooms while the adults listened to music. Before the great pause, we never slowed down long enough to just sit and listen to music, so I hope this new habit sticks after all this is over.

This week had many bright spots to balance out the dark. My friend T Marie King asked all of us what the following statement meant to us, “Better to light a candle than curse the darkness,” and as I watched the actions of others this week, I saw this statement come to life.

For example…

I don’t know if you’ve had the chance to follow Jones Valley Teaching Farm yet on Instagram or Facebook, but you should. In a time when we were forced to abandon our daily lessons, after school programs, and time with students, our staff is churning out educational content for kiddos and parents!

Compost 101 Part One (The kids and I will be building out our compost bin following these instructions today.)

Here’s a link to a lesson from Farmer Fern: https://www.instagram.com/p/B-stR2tBHfY/

Here are the lessons you can download: https://jvtf.org/compost-101/

Compost 101 Part Two

Here’s a link to a lesson from Farmer TJ: https://www.instagram.com/p/B-yBazAht40/

Here are the lessons you can download: https://jvtf.org/compost-101-part-two/

This week also marked the very first week that we distributed food and flowers! When Spring arrives on the Farm, it reinvigorates us. The first flowers and veggies mean all the work during the winter prepared us for this moment. We were proud to partner with HICA to distribute 25 family produce bags filled with lettuce, collards, carrots, radishes, and green onions.

We also participated on a community- focused phone call (thanks to Mashonda Taylor and the Woodlawn Foundation for leading the way) and when I announced we needed more masks and cleaning supplies, we got them the very next day (thank you, Canterbury and Christian Service Mission).

On Friday, we celebrated the first bouquets of the season and dropped them off at UAB Medicine. Two of the arrangements will go on the nurse stations and the rest will be handed out at shift change for first responders to take home with them. Jones Valley Teaching Farm will continue to donate our flowers throughout the Spring and Summer.

We ordered seeds so that we can begin sowing and sharing with our community. Our friends at Yellowhammer Creative launched a new campaign to support Jones Valley Teaching Farm and so many of our friends and now you can help out by clicking here: https://www.yellowhammer.org/localsseries/jonesvalley

Finally, as I was sitting at one of our teaching farms this week all covered up with a mask made and donated to us, I saw this mama bird fly over to her babies and feed them. There was something about that moment mixed in with the other great things happening at the same time that brought all of it in focus. I told our staff to take half a day off because they worked so very hard all week and during this really crazy time, we all need breathers. I’m not so sure I took the breaths I needed prior to the Universe sending us all to our rooms. I’m welcoming the uncomfortable waves of realization that I was participating in this big, wide world in a very unsustainable way and that directly affected my work, my colleagues, my family, my friends, and everything in between. I doubt I ever paid as much attention in my daily life to the things I pay attention to now.

I was talking to a friend yesterday and said that this time – this pause – this “time spent in our respective rooms,” has forced me to get down to the barest of bare. You have to strip all the stuff away to find where you actually really are in all this. I spent a lot of time keeping up with the world and all of its expectations and even at my most “stripped away self” right now, I’ve realized that I’ve actually been enough this entire time.

A lot of folks are asking me about Easter and the kids. I’ve always struggled with the commercialization and capitalization of holidays, so this weekend we are going to take a break, which means no baskets full of stuff that never really mattered in the first place. We just found old baskets and are hiding the plastic eggs from last year and that will be absolutely enough. The world has paused for a reason and I really do think this is part of the why.

Okay so here’s my last thing. I read this article and want to shout it from the rooftops. Wherever you are in “the great pause” – because I do know it has affected each of us differently and our worries are not all the same – I hope you know you are enough in this very moment – a moment we will never get back, but could learn so much from moving forward.

Categories: Family, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Quarantine Discoveries, Uncategorized

Tagged: Alabama, Birmingham, Buy Local, Canterbury, Christian Service Mission, Compost, Compost Stew, First Responders, Front Line Workers, Good School Food, HICA, John Prine, Lessons, Locals series, masks, UAB Medicine, Woodlawn Foundation, Yellowhammer Creative