Who? What? Why?

You are here because you want to know a little bit about me and why I blog. 

My name is Adelheid, but I have been called Heidi as long as I can remember. 

In 2009, I packed up my tiny car and drove from Stillwater, OK to Missoula, MT with my 15 month old daughter to join my husband. Eight years later, we are still living here and often relish in the fact that we can see mountains covered in snow out of our windows almost all year.

I am now a mother of two children who keep getting older, a wife, a sometimes somewhat reluctant but marginally obsessive homemaker.

I have a degree in Political Science and Studio Art with minors in German and Horticulture. I finished my masters degree in Plant and Soil Science December of 2009. I love learning and occasionally read a textbook for my personal enjoyment.

I started this blog in 2010 and I have been attempting to define the reasons that I started this blog.  

Why I blog:

1.)  the transition to being a mother and then, when I moved to Montana, to a stay at home mom was not an entirely easy one.  The emotions behind both were complicated, and this blog is an attempt to define and celebrate those aspects of motherhood and homemaking that give the small moments value, joy and contentment.

2.) We many years we were a family of four living well below the poverty level, but strive to live a healthy, rich and stimulating life.  We eat well, spend a lot of time outside and laugh often.  A recent statistic I heard on NPR is that 1 out of 2 American's is now living at or below the poverty level.  What it means to be  'poor'  in our country is evolving and there is a demographic that eats whole foods, shops local, is well educated and underemployed. So, we do our best to reduce, reuse and recycle, often making something from nothing, and to use our resources thoughtfully, ethically and heartfully.

3.) and of course, to stay in touch with family across the country and the world

What has changed since I started this adventure: 

1.)  I started working again.  What was for a while a 10 hr a week part time position, with a living wage and an awesome work life balance, turned into a 25 hr a week position mired with all the idiosyncrasies of federally funded affordable housing.  I have been working on saying this phrase out loud: "I develop affordable housing.".  Its true, and mostly wonderful, except that I haven't found the new balance quite yet.

2.) I decided to run for public office. I was asked by a few folks I respected very much to consider running, and because my instinct was not to decline and because I did not see  low income women and families being represented in our current political system, I did.  The irony is that once I was elected to the City Council, the stipend I received put us squarely outside of the income limit that defined us as low income.  I HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE.  My husband and I both do.

3.) I still blog to maintain my sanity, identify to small moments that provide joy and stability, and to stay in touch with family across the world.

This blog will continue to evolve with our daily lives and I look forward to the journey.  I hope some of you will come along with us.

Heidi


P.S.  If you want to Contact Me

I would love to know more about my readers, so do leave comments or send me a message. Let me know if there is anything you would like to read about, recipes you would like to see or let me know what inspires you.  I am always open to suggestions and new ideas...  or to go grab a cup of coffee. 


My email:

adelheid.west@gmail.com 

You can also contact me via my etsy site.

Thank you for taking the time to write!


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