Getting Ready and Ice boating

Read or listen to how I got ready for winter.

LISTEN to my essay over at KAXE, Embracing Winter: Getting Ready
or READ it in the Western Itasca Review.

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And read or listen to me talk about Ice Boating.

LISTEN, Embracing Winter: Ice Boating
or READ it in the WIR: here.

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And as always, keep up with all my winter escapes, photos and videos, by becoming a fan of my FACEBOOK PAGE!

Embracing Winter: Video Update

Seeing Red

Do you remember your favorite teacher? I'm sure you do, most of us have fond memories of at least a few that moved us over the years. 

I wrote about one that meant a lot to me, my mother.

Read it in the Western Itasca Review: Here

or

Listen to it at KAXE N. Community Radio: Here 

A Priceless Friendship

I've been so busy enjoying winter that I haven't been updating my blog! (Yay- that's good news as last winter all I did was write as I was too scared to go outside!) I do however, always keep my FACEBOOK FAN PAGE up to date so make sure you become a fan! You'll get to see photos of me ice boating, ice skating, and more!

Last week the Western Itasca Review ran "A Priceless Friendship", you can read that HERE.

KAXE also played it last week so you can listen to me read it HERE.

Enjoy!

I spoke too soon

In this week's column I discuss what happened when my son vomited in a restaurant. (He has food allergies so it's quite common for him to get sick right after eating.) Has this ever happened to you? If so how did you react? This big question is how much of a tip does one leave after such an ordeal. Head on over to my FACEBOOK page to let me know what you have done or would do if it happened to you.

If stories were flowers, ours would be the prettiest.

On the hot seat

This week's column piece is up: On the hot seat.

I go back to my childhood and explore all the creative seating a large family invents up in order to make more for everyone.

Have a great holiday!

Busy little bee

I've been a busy little girl of late so have a few things to update!

First, you can read this week's column in the Western Itasca Review HERE. I talk about the highs and lows of the week I just spent with my daughter in the hospital.

You can also listen to last's week radio essay for KAXE, I read the piece I wrote about Rose and her good idea. Go HERE.

And if you missed my interview this morning on KAXE you can still listen to it here. I'm on after the 42 minute mark. We went over the hour a little bit so the last few minutes were cut off but all the rest is HERE.  Enjoy! 

As always, join me on FACEBOOK to stay up to date on everything that is happening! 


And lastly I'd like to say "Happy Birthday!" to my son Jarod! 

Embracing Winter

I'm not going to lie. My first winter in Minnesota was not what I would call fun. I don't think you would label it was such either, unless your idea of a good time is staring out the window in shock, never feeling warm, and crying a lot. It wasn't pretty.

 (This is me. My first winter here. Glaring at the snow.)

So. This winter I decided that instead of trying to hide from the elements...I need to embrace them.

With the help of KAXE's listeners this is going to be a winter where I throw myself out there and test out a few different winter activities. "When in Rome" so to speak.

So tune into KAXE this Friday as I'll be on the morning show all ready to hear suggestions for winter thrills. I'll pick a few of them to do and afterwards let everyone know how it went. You'll get firsthand knowledge of what a newbie thinks of winter. In other words, you'll get to tease me, laugh with me, and shake your head at my inexperience. And that's sure to chase away the winter blues!

So tune into KAXE this Friday to join in the fun.
You can also leave your winter ideas on their FACEBOOK page.

Thanks for helping me learn that these crazy winters can be amazing! 

Old moives, new skills

This week I open up my heart to you a little and let you peek into the life of my son, specifically his relationship to movies and how they changed his life. It's an emotional piece so you might want to have a tissue handy.

You can read all about it in this week's column in the Western Itasca Review: HERE.

Or you can listen to me read it over at KAXE: HERE.

Enjoy.

The Perfect Treat

I have two treats for you today!

You either READ "The Perfect Treat" in the Western Itasca Review or you can LISTEN to me read it over at KAXE 91.7fm.

Actually, I guess I have three treats for you because here are some random photos of the children in Halloween costumes!:-)

This week's column

"Join the dark side" was published today in the WIR.

I talk about shopping with the kids and a dark chocolate face mask...of sorts.

My son wears it better than I do. :-)

Enjoy!

Thought Train

On the right track ran in the WIR today. I talk about trains, and their effect on us. How they pull on us. I think it goes back to the 1800s. Up until that point travel was slow and often impossible for some. "Sure, I'd love to go west but the risk of dying is just not worth it." But then there were trains and, if you could afford it, you could be somewhere in days instead of months and everyone would listen to those train whistles and dream, wanting to follow. A pied piper of sorts. Sure, we have better ways to travel now but our souls still respond to those blasts.

Actually, I don't think we have better travel. For me anyway, as I get such horrible motion sickness. Car, buses, and airplanes leave me curled up in a ball wishing to be in a coma. But, when we lived in the UK you could travel by train and they didn't make me sick and they were so spacious! You've seen Harry Potter, their train with the individual compartments? Yeah, they are really nice, it's like sitting in a living room. And that's amazing, to be able to travel while sitting in your living room. :-)

Here are a couple photos we've taken down by the train tracks.

KAXE Northern Community Radio

You've read my words but now you get a chance to HEAR them! :-)

This Saturday, October 15th, you can listen to "Sock Hunting" on the KAXE program Between you and me with Heidi Holtan. I'll have a five minute essay on their program which airs from 10am-12pm.

I was at the station today recording my essay with the very lovely and friendly Heidi, who was kind enough to take my photo! She's amazing and I always have so much fun chatting with her.

Tune in Saturday, you can stream the station on their WEBSITE, and let me know what you think!

Trotting Turkeys

"Cloudy with a chance of turkeys" was published today in the Western Itasca Review. I talk about the Yellville, AR annual tradition of dropping turkeys out of airplanes, which yes...I did attend that Turky Trot Festival as a child. But to me the beauty contest seems even stranger a concept as it's called Miss Drumstick and the women are judge on their legs alone!

Here's a photo off the Yellville, AR Turkey Trot Photo Gallery of the contest.

Gotta love the camouflage background...

No shirt, No service - Giveaway!

Shuck your shoes was published in the WIR today. I talk about the custom here of taking off your shoes when you enter a house, which was a little unnerving to me at first.

And while we are on the topic of apparel I'm excited to announce that I have two t-shirts to give away!

The first one is a Quietly Contrary shirt! Our very first one!

The second one is from KAXE Northern Community Radio! I'll be contributing to their program soon, which is really exciting news! I can't wait to come back with more details about this so you can listen to Quietly Contrary on air!

Both shirts are a size large. To enter to win all you have to do is leave a comment on my FACEBOOK page and I'll pick a random winner on October 13th.

Sweet & Sour Photos

Sweet pickles, sweet memories was published in the WIR today.

I talk about my grandfather, a great man who passed away last week.

I hope these memories live on, with you, forever. 

Grandpa's 90th birthday

I mention this trip in my column piece, that's me with a fish I caught on his pontoon boat, grandpa looking proud in the background.

Grandma and grandpa on my wedding day.

4 generations: My grandmother, my mother, myself, and my daughter.

 

Grandma and grandpa with my daughter and son. 

**Ended** Gorton's Gluten-Free Giveaway!!

Congratulations  Mandi & Ellen on wining this giveaway!


Mama Don't Dance was published in the WIR today!

In the article I mention that, because of food allergies, our family is gluten-free so I'm pleased to announce that we will be hosting a give-a-way for Gorton's! The give-a-way is for ANY Gorton's products though so if you are not gluten-free you still want to enter!

Gorton's Grilled Fish is now Gluten Free! Now you can add great-tasting seafood to your diet!

Before I get to my give-a-way I wanted to tell you about another offer Gorton is having right now. They are giving away 100 copies of 'Living Without" magazine on their website!

"In celebration of Gorton's Grilled Fish now being gluten free, we are giving away 100 one-year subscriptions to Living Without magazine! This magazine is a great tool for those living with celiac disease or those with gluten intolerance. For a chance to win a year's subscription to Living Without, click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page to enter.

Now for my giveaway!!!


Gorton was very kind to send me TWO prize packs!

Two fans will receive TWO FREE product coupons to sample any of Gorton’s products! (And they are really, really good! We tried the All Natural Garlic Butter Grilled Fillets and they were amazing!)



I have a lot of ways for you to enter!

Leave a separate comment for each entry that you complete (Make sure I have access to your email):

• Leave a comment on this post telling me which Gorton's product you would like to try.
  
• Like Quietly Contrary on Facebook
• Follow Quietly Contrary on Twitter 
• Tweet about the giveaway (include @gortonsseafood)
• Post this giveaway on your Facebook page
• Post this giveaway on your blog (3 entries) (Leave me a link)
• Bonus: Leave a comment on my Facebook describing how one of my articles affected you. (5 entries) 
• Go to http://www.gortons.com and sign up for their fun e-newsletter!
•  "Like" Gorton's on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/gortonsseafood
•  "Follow" Gorton's Seafood on Twitter http://twitter.com/gortonsseafood
• Email 5 people about this giveaway - please cc me on the email [maryquietlycontrary@gmail.com] 

The giveaway will end on Wednesday, September 28th, the winner will be chosen by a random drawing.  The winner will be contacted by email and will have 24 hours to respond after being contacted.  I will update this post with the name of the winner after the winner has been confirmed.

Good Luck!

Disclaimer: Gorton's provided us with free samples of these products to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product. 

A-hunting we will go...

SOCK HUNTING was published today in the WIR. We will not talk about how sad I am that I really do have on three pairs of socks right now as it's in the 30s today. :-(

I'm homesick for the long, lovely Autumns in the south at the moment.

But I am going sock hunting today so perhaps that will perk me up. I might even pick up some mint sauce as well, for old time's sake. Though lamb isn't as common in the states as it is in N. Ireland. Lamb was actually the first meal I ate there, bits of it in a potato gnocchi. It was really flavorful.

Don't forget to enter to win a LUSH spa gift set, today is the last day to enter! Click HERE for your chance to win!

**ENDED** Lush giveaway! **ENDED**

**We have a winner via Random Number Generator. Comment #8, Fleur!! Thank you to everyone for entering! Keep on eye on this bog as there will be more giveaways soon!** 

MARKED FOR BEAUTY was published in the WIR today. In this piece I talk about the beauty found in a mother's body. So of course I felt this was the time for the perfect giveaway for a mother...A LUSH gift set! I'm a huge fan of Lush because they use all natural and organic ingredients plus they are a green company, among other amazing aspects.

Keep on reading to find out how you can win the Mamma Mia Gift Set!

"Mamma Mia!  A box of five shower goodies for mums on the run. Soften with our Creamed Almond and Coconut Smoothie, moisturize your mitts with Tiny Hands, start your day the fruity way with Miranda soap, visit the Mediterranean by way of The Olive Branch and scrub away your skin troubles with our tough Sugar Scrub."

Giveaway:   One winner will be selected at random from a comment below. The winner will receive one Mamma Mia gift set.

To enter you must leave a comment on this post.

Leave a separate comment for each entry that you complete (Make sure I have access to your email):

• Leave a comment on this post telling me anything you wish. I'm not picky. lol
• Like Quietly Contrary on Facebook
• Follow Quietly Contrary on Twitter 
• Tweet about the giveaway (include @quietlycontrary)
• Post this giveaway on your Facebook page (Link to fanpage)
• Post this giveaway on your blog (3 entries) (Leave me a link)
• Bonus: Leave a comment on my Facebook describing how one of my articles affected you. (5 entries) 

The giveaway will end on Wednesday, September 14th.  The winner will be contacted by email and will have 24 hours to respond after being contacted.  I will update this post with the name of the winner after the winner has been confirmed.

Good Luck!

Upon Leaving: Bonus Photos

Upon Leaving was published this week in the WIR!

I talking about a recent incident that happened while I was waiting for my flight back to Minnesota. I had an amazing week in Arkansas and hope I stocked up on enough sunshine to last me through the winter. :-)

Below are a few of the photos I took during my trip.

Enjoy.