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Fed Up with Frenzy Book Celebrates One Year!

Speaking at the elementary school my daughter attended

 

What a year for Fed Up with Frenzy: Slow Parenting in a Fast-Moving World, my book that grew out of this blog in an attempt to share some of the techniques I used with my family to slow our increasingly busy and out-of-balanced lives, as well as outline 300+ affordable and delightful games, crafts and activities that I enjoyed with my family, friends and Girl Scout troop to help us slow down, reconnect and spend more joyful and distraction-free time together.

I relished recounting the playground and jump-rope games I learned from my own mom; the paper boats my family made and sailed down a local creek; the awe we experienced observing natural phenomena, like tidepools and meteor showers; and the simple fun we had making batches of bubble solution or picking berries to make jam and fruit desserts. It is my firm belief that you don’t have to spend a lot of money or prep time to enjoy activities with children that will create lifelong memories and perhaps result in a new skill, or one that was forgotten as we entered an increasingly busy and technologically oriented adulthood.

 

 

Slow Down.

Reconnect.

It’s Easier than You Think.

 

 

 

 

It turned out that a lot of people, in the media and in everyday life, related to the message.

TIME Healthland named Fed Up with Frenzy and Slow Parenting a 2012 Top 10 Parenting Trend. The book was reviewed in the Washington Post.

I got to fly to New York to talk about Slow Parenting on national TV, on Fox & Friends Weekend. You can watch the interview here.

I was interviewed by Randi Zuckerberg at Dot Complicated.

I got to speak about Slow Parenting at my childhood hometown bookstore and my current local bookstore and have dear friends and family enliven the discussions that ensued. I shared Fed Up with Frenzy in libraries, community rooms and school auditoriums. Most recently, I shared tips for enjoying a slow family summer in nature with guests at the Bay Area Discovery Museum, a place where my younger family had enjoyed many discoveries of our own. Hear the talk and watch the slide show. Read about other Fed Up with Frenzy talks.

Attempting to look serious with CA Writers Club members

I also had a lot of generous people write very nice things about my book in the press and on my Fed Up with Frenzy blog tour, including Vicki Larson in my local paper, the Marin Independent Journal, which featured my daughter and me, and Jessica Hahn-Taylor of SF Hill Babies, who ran an extremely beautiful and thoughtful piece just last weekend.

Anna and me photographed making soap

From the moment the carton of books arrived in our house, the year of “Frenzy” has indeed been a busy, albeit very exciting, one. I’m thrilled to have met so many wonderful people and gained new insights from the parents of today’s young children, whose lives are even busier, more distracted and more technological than mine was in those years (and who are very grateful to hear that making dried-bean mosaics constitutes a fine Saturday morning and to offer the epiphany, as one mom at a preschool talk did, that brushing teeth is easier and more enjoyable if viewed as an activity, rather than a chore.)

Thank you so much for coming along on this Slow journey with me. I look forward to seeing what Year 2 brings!

 

 

Slow Family Nominated for Awards from Parents Magazine and Red Tricycle

In a season of wonderful blog awards, including being voted Best Bay Area Mom Blog on Circle of Moms, Slow Family Online has been honored again.

The blog has been nominated for Parents Magazine‘s Best Blog Award, for which voting ends October 15. It has also been nominated for Red Tricycle‘s Totally Awesome  Awards, in the Best Online Parenting Blog category. Nominations close September 9, after which finalists are announced for public voting.

Nominate me

In a word, WOW! These events wouldn’t have happened had you all not supported me for the Circle of Moms award. Thank you so much! I so appreciate this astounding community and your continued support. Each of these two new awards requires an e-mail sign-up.

 

 

Slow Family Voted Top San Francisco Mom Blog on Circle of Moms

I’m thrilled and surprised to have been voted the Top San Francisco Bay Area Mom Blog on the Circle of Moms community site, among extremely close competition. Some of my pals are also on the Top 25 list, such as Frog Mom, A Little Yumminess and The Family Chef. I also got to discover some other beautiful and inspiring blogs, such as Goat Notes, Suburban Homestead and Using Our Words. I suggest you check out the entire list for gorgeous photos, great resources and fun family ideas.

The other thing I discovered is what an outrageously supportive, talented, energetic, enthusiastic, funny, loyal — and did I mention supportive? — circle of friends and readers I have. I can’t begin to count the number of you who voted, asked friends and families to vote (repeatedly!), cheered from the sidelines, wrote kind notes, and voted again — from across the U.S. into France, Germany and New Zealand. I so appreciate the support and camaraderie. For a couple of weeks, for an internet contest, you made my world feel like a village. That is the best prize of all, and for that I will always be grateful.

Earlier this year, I was also very honored and surprised to make Red Tricycle‘s list of favorite San Francisco Bay Area parent blogs. I am also grateful to have made Power Moms Unite‘s 7 Blogs for an Inspired, Simple Life. And, earlier, to have been granted a One Lovely Blog Award from Green Phone Booth. You will want to check out the other blogs on all three sites.

I hope, like me, you’ll keep supporting blogs and people who promote living with intention, fun, beauty, community, appreciation and warmth. And, if you still have a little voting left in you, I suggest you visit the Circle of Moms Top 25 SoCal Mom Blogs contest and join me in voting for two great nature-blog pals, Go Explore Nature and Fun Orange County Parks. :)

 

Postcards Between Poles: Virtual Pen Pals in the U.S. and N.Z.

Did you have a pen pal while you were growing up? Or do you have one now? I had several, and I loved writing to them and receiving their letters. I had long-time pen pals in Japan, Fiji, Switzerland, France, Lake Tahoe, CA, and Scranton, PA, among other places.

Now, this was before the internet, which lets us send instantaneous video-embedded messages around the globe. While some may still revel in the simple act of putting pen to paper and writing out thoughts in longhand, then licking and stamping an envelope (perhaps even embellishing with stickers, doodads, or sealing wax), there are others for whom this sounds as quaint and efficient as rolling a message into a bottle and letting it float out to sea.

Elise and I met online, as it happens. I was immediately drawn to her beautiful, and often whimsical, photography, and the playful way she portrayed her and her family’s life in New Zealand. She was drawn to my message of slowing down and observing life’s small moments. She proposed a blog in which we sent electronic photos and postcards across the globe (and across seasons) to one another once a week, following a simple theme that we alternated choosing, and adding a short message.

The result is Postcards Between Poles.

The photos for the diptychs are taken the week they’re sent. The postcards often are, as well, though we allow for a little stretching of time where they’re concerned.

As Elise writes on the blog:

A postcard is a glimpse into the life of someone we know or a stranger.   The image on the front and writing on the back cleverly capture a moment in history that tells a story.

I find that receiving delightful electronic missives does replicate some of the surprise and joy of receiving a letter from an exotic place. I hope you likewise enjoy coming with us on the continuing journey of Postcards Between Poles. Did you, or do you now, enjoy having a pen pal?

These are just a few of the postcards we’ve exchanged over the months.

Cape Palliser, Wairarapa, by Elise
Tibetan Prayer Flags, by Elise
Rainbow Laden, by Suz
Spring has Sprung, by Elise
Granary Burying Ground, by Suz
San Francisco Storefront, by Suz

Slow Family Has Moved – Come Along!

While you were sleeping, workshop elves helped Slow Family Online move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org. If you are a subscriber, you may need to make a change to continue to receive Slow Family Online news.

If you subscribe through your own WordPress blog, you will need to visit SlowFamilyOnline.com and subscribe by email, in the right-hand column.

If you subscribe in a reader, you will need to visit your reader’s home page and enter the new feed address, www.slowfamilyonline.com/feed

If you bookmarked the old suzlipman.wordpress.com address, you will need to change your bookmark to www.slowfamilyonline.com

If you subscribe by email, you don’t need to change a thing to continue to receive updates from Slow Family Online.

Thank you for your patience and support. Cheers to enjoying a terrific and slow summer.

Suz

Photo by Susan Sachs Lipman

Slow Family Makes Red Tricycle’s List of Top Parent Blogs

I’m thrilled to have been chosen as one of Red Tricycle‘s favorite San Francisco Bay Area parent blogs. The list includes such wonderful company as Frog Mom, Playground Dad, The Toddler CafeRookie Moms, A Little Yumminess, The Family Chef, Marin Mommies, and many more!

In addition to San Francisco, Red Tricycle has editions for San Diego, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle. The site and newsletters are superb resources for fun family activities, events, news stories, crafts, and information about everything from food and fitness to parties and preschools.

Thanks again, Red Tricycle!

Giving Thanks: Express Gratitude with Crafts, Foods, Fun and Contemplation

Thanksgiving is upon us in the U.S. Even those who routinely feel and express gratitude have a sanctioned reason to pause and do so more profoundly than usual. Gratitude can transform one’s entire experience and outlook. It imbues relationships, observations and activities with awe and fullness and the realization that “this moment” — and our own unique collection of moments — is the best there is.

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The Thanksgiving holiday makes space for us to allow gratitude into our (often busy) lives in new ways and to pass that feeling on to our children. I’m very grateful for many things, including my wonderful and creative blogger friends who have taken the time to contribute their own ideas for gratitude and celebration.

While I love the smells of turkey cooking — in addition to watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on T.V. — I also enjoy getting out in nature on Thanksgiving Day. Frugal Mama shares four make-ahead traditional Thanksgiving recipes that allow you to enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving meal, with all the trimmings, as well as some time away from the kitchen.

Pumpkin pie is a classic Thanksgiving and Fall food and, while you can make it from scratch, this recipe using canned pumpkin, is extremely easy and makes a very tasty pie.

You can bake your own crust or use one of the pre-made ones, some of which are getting better and better tasting. Epicurious taste-tested pre-made pie crusts. Among their favorites is one of  mine, Whole Foods 365 Organic Pie Shells. Good Housekeeping also weighs in with their pre-made pie crust taste test.

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From Rhythm of the Home and Vintage Chica comes a beautiful Thankfulness Journal project.  Of course, this well-made felt-covered book would be a wonderful project to make, use and enjoy any time of year.

The same could be said of this equally inspiring and beautiful gratitude banner from Future Craft Collective. It’s fun and lovely in itself and wonderful in the way it allows family members to contemplate and formalize their gratitude.

 

Shoveling snow? Why not turn it into a fun and magical outdoor activity for you and your kids? That’s what Mel at Traveling Mel did. Her photos are delightful and inspiring, as always.

Bethe, the Grass Stain Guru, shares her own wonderful list of 10 things to be thankful for in nature.

I just had the good fortune to learn about the Greater Good Science Center in Berkeley, CA, which explores the science behind happiness and gratitude and the ways that we can nurture those brain pathways that promote them. According the the folks at Greater Good, happiness and gratitude can be learned and practiced traits.

Want more information about cultivating an attitude of gratitude? Gratitude Twenty Four Seven is just that – a very inspiring site from Jarl Forsman and Steve Sekhon full of daily tips and affirmations to help you be more grateful and fulfilled every day.

Arvind Devalia gives us some ideas about embracing what we already have.

My own gratitude list includes:
A family that laughs a lot
Good friends
The smell of clean laundry
The air after it rains
Strawberries
Tulips
Clouds
Vintage anything
Old cities
Trains
Tomatoes
Beaches
Hats and gloves
Hopeful new immigrants
Energy
Creativity
Good health
A warm house
Meaningful work
Books and book stores
Holidays
Amusement Parks
County Fairs
Swing music
Colors
Babies
Curlicues
Road trips
A smile from a stranger
Daffodils
Snow-capped mountains
Starry nights
Wonder

..to name a few things

What’s yours?

Happy Thanksgiving!

x

Photos: Farm Security Administration, Rick Audet, Bernadette Noll, Susan Sachs Lipman

Slow Family Receives Green Phone Booth’s One Lovely Blog Award

I just learned that Slow Family Online has been named a recipient of the One Lovely Blog award from The Green Phone Booth. Green Phone Booth is itself a fantastic blog, full of new, useful ideas for living a simpler, greener, more creative, and less consumerist life. Everything on Green Phone Booth is offered up with great humor, practicality, and pretty graphics, making it a real go-to in the world of green blogs.

Thank you, Green Phone Booth, for the award! It’s been fun to learn about the other chosen blogs, and I feel honored to be in their company. I look forward to passing on my own Blog Award, and letting you all know about some lovely blogs I’ve found, in an upcoming post.

Who Brought you to Gardening?

As a wonderful treat yesterday, I awoke to a lovely post on my friend Alison Kerr’s blog, Loving Nature’s Garden. Alison is a very talented observer of the natural world. From her, I’ve learned all about birds, flowers, and critters; ideas for getting myself and others outdoors; and Alison’s special relationship with her own Kansas habitat, which she shares with a great deal of wisdom and humor. And did I mention how thorough she is?

Her new post is about all the people who have influenced her to be a gardener, a wonderful trail back to her grandfather who bought baby leeks, her grandmothers who made rhubarb pie and grew wildflowers, and her mother who grew improbably warm-weather crops in Scotland. All these threads of course led to Alison’s own love of gardening and the way it connects her to family members who came before. It is a beautiful piece, with great pictures of everyone, and of course it led to a flood of hearfelt comments from readers sharing their own memories of the people who influenced them to love getting their hands dirty and growing things.

She got me thinking about my own gardening heritage, which I shared:

My family has always grown something, on patios and decks, in windowboxes and raised beds. At 9 we moved from an apartment to an old house that miraculously had a greenhouse, great beds and soil, and wonderful sun. My mom grew beautiful roses and spent lots of time lovingly cutting and arranging them. She had long, pretty fingers and I can still picture them tending to her roses.

My dad and I took to the greenhouse, to propagate and experiment. Into the beds went cucumbers, tomatoes, marigolds, zinnias, and other cheery and fairly easy flowers. My dad worked hard at his job and gardening was a way to spend relaxing, fascinating time together.

I still always grow something, now with my own daughter. I love sowing the seeds, watching new shoots come in. Our shadier spot is home to peas, lettuce, pansies, cosmos, and tulips that are just coming up now.

I really appreciate Alison’s continuing inspiration and her getting me to think about who brought me to gardening, which I probably would not have done without the prompt. (Such can be the beauty of the internet.) I recommend you take a look at Loving Nature’s Garden, and visit often. There’s always a link to it on my front page.

My mom was also an avid photographer. The rose pictures are ones she took of her garden.

Here is my dad with a prized cucumber from a fruitful growing season.

And here we are celebrating together.

Photos by Bunnie Sachs

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