Little Magpie

chasing shiny objects

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I Was Raised By A Pirate

This post originally appeared on Arkansas Women Bloggers in early 2016 for the "Adventure" theme. After our recent family adventure to check out the solar eclipse, it felt like time to share it again.   In Singapore in the early 1990s. I was raised by a pirate. A Frenchman running from the law sold him his vessel, and together we sailed out of Port Royal - the city so wicked it sank into the Caribbean Sea - and out into open waters to circle Dead Man’s Key. The boat would pitch ... View Post

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Mushroom & Leek Risotto, Part Deux

This particular risotto is tied to something a little deeper, but it doesn't matter if your craving comes with a "situation" or not. Risotto is comforting and restorative no matter what you're wrangling... but it seems like a lot of people skip it because it has a reputation for being persnickety or difficult. If I'm honest, there are probably plenty of people who dodge me because I'm persnickety or difficult. I had been craving risotto and restocked my arborio rice supply, and there is ... View Post

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How The 5 Ps of Marketing Make Healthy Kids

Or: How Product, Place, Promotion and Price Lead To Parenting Profit. Or: How We've Cultivated Kids Who Eat Well (90% Of The Time) This is not an "I've got it all figured out, so gather round and listen to my wisdom" kind of post. I'm hyper-aware these days of the idea that everyone is looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, pretending to live a perfect life and promoting a false reality by showing only the good times and the staged moments. As you might imagine, I have opinions on ... View Post

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How The 5 Ps of Marketing Make Healthy Kids

Or: How Product, Place, Promotion and Price Lead To Parenting Profit. Or: How We've Cultivated Kids Who Eat Well (Most Of The Time) This is not an "I've got it all figured out, so gather round and listen to my wisdom" kind of post. I'm very aware these days of the idea that everyone is looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, pretending to live a perfect life and promoting a false reality by showing only the good times and the staged moments. As you might imagine, I have opinions ... View Post

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On Starting Down The Foodie Path

Our oldest daughter - now 11 - has been in and around the kitchen at The Good House a good part of her life. For several years, she's made a substantial fair season income tending to the neighbors' chickens, and she's done plenty of cooking (and assisting) on and off since she was old enough to don an apron or help in the garden. Recently, she's show even more interest in food by concocting stylized breakfasts for her sister, handling all hard-boiled egg preparations for the ... View Post

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On Love and Parenting

We often think of love in the context of instants: spotting a future partner, walking down the aisle, the smacking reality of a brand new baby handed to us for safekeeping. It's human nature to anticipate these pivotal moments and to inflate them in our minds, allowing them to serve as our definition of a deep and abiding connection to another. . We forget, I think, what a gradual process it is to understand love. All those references to the long-smoldering embers over the sudden spark reiterate ... View Post