It’s almost summer here in the northern hemisphere (though it certainly doesn’t feel like it here in Oregon to this native Texan—it snowed yesterday!), and when this season dawns, I like to slow things down a bit. The to-do list never ends when you work for yourself, but it does mean that you can take off a random Tuesday and spend it floating down a river. I like that.

My kids will be home, we’ll be traveling, and there are plenty of pool and lake days with my name on them, library book in tow. The same goes for my friends I podcast with, and so we’re gonna slow them down a bit. Just for a few months.

We record The Simple Mom Podcast (almost) weekly, and though I know several of you have said you wished they were daily, there’s actually quite a bit of work that goes in to producing them—not to mention juggling two mamas’ schedules to get in a good recording. I absolutely LOVE making them; they’re one of my favorite parts of this weird gig I do. I mean, who wouldn’t love a fabulous excuse to talk to six wonderful women on a regular basis?

But for the summer, we’re going to be producing them every other week, so that we can make the most of our summer with our families. I know, you can throw tomatoes at me. I think you’ll manage. (That was sarcastic, if you couldn’t tell. It’s not always obvious on the Internet.)

Here’s the recent podcasts from the past few months, if you’ve missed out on some:

• The Wayback, with cohost Megan Tietz

• Gauntlet Month, with cohost Kat Lee

• Father Hen, with cohost Hayley Morgan

• Compliment Sandwich, with cohost Lisa Leonard

• Be a Good You, with cohost Emily Freeman (a special episode dedicated entirely to the 5% collective wisdom we share on book publishing)

• Talk About Magic, with cohost Megan Tietz

• The Plate Whisperer, with cohost Myquillyn Smith (aka The Nester)

I’m so grateful that so many of you listen! They really are a joy to create.

And in the meantime, I’d love to hear what you’d like to hear us discuss on the podcasts! Any topics that pique your interest? You can always email me questions using the contact form, or feel free to toss out ideas here in the comments.

Wait, don’t click away—you’re at the right place. You’re at Simple Mom. I mentioned awhile back that the blog was getting a facelift. Well—here it is! Definitely the biggest change since its inception in five years. What do you think? Wait, only tell me if it’s complimentary. Just kidding—I really want to know what you think.

(If you’re reading this via email or RSS reader, click over to the blog to see the redesign.)

I had several goals with this redesign, the main one being meeting my personal need for a big change. Aside from some experimental designs the first year of the blog’s life, Simple Mom has more or less looked the same. I thrive on change, so I was hankerin’ for a big new look.

Secondly, I wanted something that would showcase what I think is the best part of this online community—the content. I wanted to make it front-and-center, while still making everything else findable. The most recent post is RIGHT HERE, in nice, big, clean typography.

Third, I wanted it to be painfully easy to see who was writing what post. Including me, there are now TWENTY-THREE regular writers on Simple Mom. 23! That’s a lot. The writers here take time to publish great stuff, so I wanted to make sure readers could see their faces right away. (Note: I know it’s hard to see who wrote which post when you’re reading via email or via an RSS reader. We’re working on that…)
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So you may have noticed a few changes around here. Or, maybe not (one thing I learned from your survey results back in January was that things that I think are huge shifts here on the blog are often barely noticeable by the readers). Since November, subtle tweaks, shifts, and alterations have been happening behind the scenes. And soon, you’ll see the difference in front of the scenes (is that even a thing, front-of-the-scenes?).

You glorious readers are the ones who’ve made this blog what it is, so I thought it reasonable to finally fill you in on what’s going on around here. So pull up a chair, take a peek behind the curtains (watch out for loose tools left around; we’re still under construction), and let me explain what’s up.

Warning: This is a longer-than-I-prefer post. But I’m seriously excited to share with you all the goings-on, so I didn’t want to leave anything left out. If you need to, save this post until naptime, and come back with a cup of tea and a clear head.
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Friends, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts last month in our big survey. It’s helped us plan out these next few months, as we anticipate major changes on the horizon. If anything, your answers have confirmed many of the things I’ve felt were true, and I agree with much of what you said. You’re awesome!

I also learned this: some of you are crazy opinionated. That’s not bad, of course—I appreciate your sincere feedback and your genuine heart that cares about this site. I’m honored that you want the work we do to work even better.

So here are a few things I’ve learned from the survey, and also through wisdom from others in my life recently about how I’m made and what I’m passionate about—stuff about you guys, about me, and about how I can best play on the Internet to tap into my strengths.

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Fun news—my new e-book, One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, is now available in Kindle format on Amazon! For the same price as the PDF, you can buy the e-book and instantly start reading it on your Kindle.

If you’re so inclined, and if you like the book, it’d mean so much to me if you would leave a review on Amazon. This is a small but powerful way you can support the e-book, this blog, and the entire Simple Living Media family. (I hate to ask, believe me.)

Oh, and we’re still working on the Nook version, and hope to have that ready for you in the next week or two.

Thanks for your patience, and happy reading!