Politics, Stories
Sarah Holland
Campaign Update: March

"How's the campaign going?"

It's the question I get most often. It's also the question I'm never quite sure how to answer.

Good? ... Great! ... Your guess is as good as mine. ... We'll see May 17th!

The truth - I suppose - all depends on what you're measuring. 

Campaign Update: March
Celebrations
Sarah Holland
Felix's Winter ONE-derland

This weekend we hosted a Winter ONE-derland party in honor of Felix's first birthday. Considering this child was born during a snow, it seemed like an appropriate theme. Well, the weather had other plans and it was 70 and sunny! I could have hosted the dang party outside! 

Felix's Winter ONE-derland
Stories
Sarah Holland
Ruby

For my 30th birthday, I created a list of 30 things I wanted to do. One was to write a historical fiction short story. This is the story and as Ruby keeps calling to me here lately. I thought I'd share it here. 

Ruby
Food
Sarah Holland
Nicholas's Freezer to Crockpot Meals

One of Nicholas's New Year's resolutions was to try freezer meals. He'd prepped meals for the week on and off through 2015 and wanted to see how it would work to prepare an entire month's worth. Then, we could just pull a meal from the deep freeze, throw it in the crockpot, and on a busy day dinner would be waiting for us.

Nicholas's Freezer to Crockpot Meals
What I Learned
Sarah Holland
5 things I learned in January

Dear 2016, Slow. Up. I just picked my word for the year and finished off my New Year's Eve champagne like five minutes ago and now it's two days until February!

Whew.

5 things I learned in January
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Three pieces of pop culture I can't stop talking about

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Have you encountered me on the street recently? Or had basically any communication with me online or off? Then, you've probably had me harass you about Kacey Musgraves's sophomore album Pageant Material.

Her songwriting is clever and insightful and vulnerable and catchy as hell. She is why I fell in love with country music and is everything that is great about the genre (think Dixie Chicks not the abomination that is bro-country). 

I've fallen so hard for this album I went and bought her FIRST album Same Trailer Different Park AND tickets to see her at The Pageant in September!

So, I'm going to tell you I'm obsessed with UnREAL, a new drama on Lifetime, and you're going to start to roll your eyes but DON'T. I am a TV snob to end all TV snob. I don't watch trash. I don't watch reality television.

However, I WILL watch a smart, expertly written drama about the inner workings of a reality television show modeled on The Bachelor. The show follows Rachel Goldberg, one of the show's producers, as she manipulates the show's contestants while attempting to maintain her humanity. Did I mention the show's creator worked on the actual Bachelor for NINE seasons?

So. Good.

Do you have kids? Wait, scratch that. Do you eat? Occasionally when you eat, do you consume sugar?

Then, watch. this. movie. It's free on Netflix or you can rent it on Amazon. Either way. 

Here's the deal. In the 1970's, my high school had a smoke shack... FOR STUDENTS.

Appalling, right? Insane, right?

Well, there's a reason Mad Men began with advertising cigarettes and ended with advertising soda. In 20 years (hopefully, sooner), we will look back and recognize the lunacy of our current situation.  We allow multi-billion dollar industries poison us and our children. We allow them to PAY schools to sell their poisonous products. We allow them to advertise directly to our children. We allow them to pay off our government so they can continue to lie to us.

It is unethical. It is immoral. It is insanity. 

If I wasn't fed up before this movie, I sure as heck am now. 

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Why I’m saying goodbye to Gone with the Wind

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In 2nd grade, I developed an obsession with Gone with the Wind. I don’t remember the first time I saw the movie, but I do remember watching it compulsively. I could recite every dress Scarlett wore in the order she wore them. I knew all the details of her life and started collecting Gone with the Wind memorabilia.

I dressed up as Scarlett for Halloween. I named the little black gerbil I received for Christmas Prissy, an incredibly embarrassing personal factoid I have only told a handful of people up until this post.

In high school, I finally read the book. I remember loving the novel even more than the movie and reading the 1000+ pages in a couple of days.

What I don’t remember at any point during my love affair with Gone with the Wind was racism.

The Marshmallow Test: The Amos Version

In the late 1960's, psychologist Walter Mischel led several experiments on delayed gratification involving four year olds and a bunch of marshmallows. The premise is simple and I explain at the beginning of the video.

The characteristic these experiments test - basically self-control - has been to be a fundamental predictor of success in life. I've always said I'm going to test all my children in when they reach four years old - not because I want to see how successful they will be as adults, after all to think one can truly predict that is hopeful at best and ridiculous at worst. 

Basically, I just wanted to see which children I might want to keep a close eye on. I tested Griffin at four and now it's Amos's turn!

Would you ever perform the marshmallow test on your child? Or do you already know what they will do? How important do you believe self-control to success? 

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A Paducah Summer List for ADULTS

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Today I'm on HerKentucky with a brand new section called HerPaducah! We've already talked about the fact that Paducah is having a MOMENT and we decided it was time to highlight all the fabulous things happening in our town. So, look forward to posts highlighting new businesses, delicious foods, and exciting art and music events. To kick it off, I have a summer list for ADULTS. I've talked about fun things for families to do but sometimes a summer evening just needs an adult beverage or grown up fun!

Summer is a perfect time of year to go exploring so we're going to kick things off with a summer list for ADULTS. We've made a list with lots for little ones. Inspired by You Are My Fave's "How to summer" categories, this list is for the big kid inside us all.  Click here to download a copy!

GO

To see the rest of the list including things to MAKE, DO, and EAT visit the new herPaducah!

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Celebrating #PaducahProud for my blogiversary

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When I launched bluegrass redhead two years ago, I knew writing about my small town life in Paducah, Kentucky, would be a huge part of the blog. We gave up so much six years ago to leave our life in Washington, D.C., and move back to my hometown. Since that time, my passion for Paducah has never wavered. 

I knew Paducah was something special, but it was always hard to explain to other people. Maybe I only loved Paducah because she was my home?

Since moving home, however, I have watched Paducah change and grow and I am now confident proclaiming.

Y'all, Paducah is having a MOMENT.

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#SeedlingSummer - the Paducah Way

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As you know from my summer list, we take summer seriously around these parts. Simply put -summer days are in short supply and I want to make the most of them.

Recently, The Other Sarah from Salt & Nectar joined the awesome team at Seedling, where they also take the fun of the summer season pretty seriously. TOS sent the boys a sampling of Seedling's all-in-one activity kits and asked me to share what summer looks like in our neck of the woods.

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Unique birth announcements for boys

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When Griffin was born six years ago (SIX!??!), beautiful photo birth announcements had only recently become available to the masses. I spent a half an hour getting the perfect shot while he napped and ordered my sweet little birth announcement from Tiny Prints. 

By the time Amos arrived two years later, I wanted something a little more unique. I fell hard for the "Hi, I'm...." design on WestWillow and had my friend Emilee take the beautiful shot of Amos. 

Fast forward three and a half years later and the Hi/Hello motif is EVERYWHERE. I wanted something unique and something that spoke to Felix's third brother status. After months of searching, I finally decided to design it myself! So, the beautiful photo was taken by Brad Rankin and the announcement designed by your's truly!

Did you send birth announcements? Got a great source for unique designs?

The online home of Sarah Stewart Holland