Less of Me

Started something new & needful last week. There is less of me today...24 sticks of butter LESS of me. =) Yeah! Gracie thinks there's already more room on the couch for her. hee hee! Actually, she's right. Think about how much room 6 pounds of butter takes up on the couch. Not that we allow butter on the couch. No, we don't.

I must pause to give credit to my friend, Cylinda Shirley Nickel over at Because Life is Like a Bowl of Marbles, for her "sticks 'o butter off my butt" analogy. =) Inspiring, indeed. Well, giggling does indeed add up to activity points. =)

I've got some new shoes...made for walking. Well, they are really made for running, but we are wogging (the walk-jog combo) for now. =) And I've got this great book by John Bingham, Courage to Start. I'm feeling pretty well equipped.

Not only did we buy new shoes for our wogging to running journey to Nashville, but we also invested in a blender. Yes, we are now a smoothie making family. =) Gracie is thrilled. Yes. However, I am under strict orders NOT to sneak celery in her smoothie. "OHhhhhh, that's what those stringy things were. MOM!" So now I know just not to tell her I put sweet potatoes & red pepper in yesterday's blend. Scrumptious with all those raspberries, strawberries & bananas. That's what I call "Deceptively Delicious." To be honest, that's what Jerry Seinfeld's wife calls her cookbook...I love the book, the idea & just plum plagiarized the title. Except that now I've just given her credit, so no plagiarizing going on here. Thanks to Uncle Randy & Auntie Em for the cookbook. =)

So here we go....oh, the we part. I could use some cheerleaders here & not the kind that bring cookies. =) Except I can have cookies. Just have to figure out how many points are in those Shorty Cake kind. =)

Goal for this week: journal every bite

Actually, that was my goal for my 1st week. Journal every bite = SUCCESS! Plus, I totally resisted SODA while down with the family in MO. I survived a family reunion with a 24 stick loss. I even ate the peach cobbler, roasted pork loin, potato salad and some other goodies. I did, however, spit out that bite of cinnamon chocolate roll. Not good; not good at all. =/ JOURNAL EVERY BITE!

Bis spater...

Traditions of JoyFULL Giving

A tradition I treasure from my childhood was mom's cookie & candy trays delivered to friends & neighbors for the holidays. Mom was known for sharing her tasty treats & yummy talents with others. Teachers & school administrators, pastors & sunday school teachers, folks at her favorite mom & pop store...they all got a tray overflowing with fudge, divinity, cookies & other scrumptious goodies. What a way to say a warm heartfelt thank you & Merry Christmas! Thus, I come honestly by this baking & taking-to-others joy.

The past couple of years, I've tried my hand at Christmas candies & cookies to share. Trying out mom's tried & true recipes while experimenting with new ones. My angel or sponge candy looked so yummy & tasted pretty good - after the 3rd batch, that is. Mom never would have made chocolate covered orange peelings, but something that tastes so good can't be THAT hard to make. Peanut brittle - what a treat & a science lesson to boot! When they say pour immediately into the pan - they mean IMMEDIATELY!

There is great delight in giving. What better gift than something heart & homemade with love.
I'm looking forward to this season of sharing again this year. Gracie is my kitchen cutie helper & is quite generous with the sprinkles, chips & whatever add-ins there may be. She's catching on to the joy in giving & that makes my heart smile really big.

If making gifts for others is right up your alley, check out the happenings over at Parent Bloggers & Klutz.

AND can I say at this point how stinkin excited I am about our upcoming cookie exchange with the roomies?? Whoo hooo! I might just make some dark chocolate covered sponge candy & peanut brittle for the grand event. YUM!

Dinosaur Soup

Well, it's here & I'm delighted! Gracie's now-published recipe is on page 123!

Here's a lil sampling of Dinosaur Soup (And Other Dubious Recipes Written By Children)



Thanks for asking about Gracie's recipe. I'll post it here, but as Dinosaur's disclaimer reads "These recipes contain partially cooked, completely uncooked, totally overcooked, an/or readily unavailable or non-existent ingredients. Preparation as directed is not advised and as shown will almost certainly result in inedible meals and food-borne illnesses. Recipes feature are for entertainment purposes only. In short, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!"

Gracie's Chocolate Chip Cookies

cookie dough- yellow
little chocolates

Put the chocolates in and bake it in the oven and in 30 more minutes it's done. So then we get chocolate chip cookies.

And Bob's your uncle~ EDIT: or it could just as easily be "and Randy's your uncle" :o)

Now, if this looks like your kind of recipe or recipe book, let me know...I have an inside track on purchasing. :o) Sources also tell me Bob's Your Uncle is soon opening a retail section on their website where you can purchase super cool stuff like Dinosaur Soup.

Happy Day to you & yours from delighted me & mine~

EDIT: I submitted Gracie's recipe in response to a call for kid's recipes - unedited & fresh from the kids' mouth! How fun & what an honor to be included!

Good news!

Hey, I just got an email from Martin at Bob's Your Uncle announcing the release of their new book, Dinosaur Soup, which features Gracie's recipe for making cookies. Can't wait to see it & share it with ya'll!
Bob's Your Uncle is a Boston, Massachusetts based paper goods company founded by Martin & Michele Yeeles in 2001. Originally from England, they moved to the States in 1993 “just for a year or two” and have been in Boston ever since. Martin is a graphic designer, Michele a former shoe designer.

Just so you know...“Bob's your uncle” is a British expression used to indicate that a given task is very simple. Possibly inspired by Victorian Prime Minister, Robert Cecil, who appointed his nephew to a ministerial post, therefore to have Bob as your uncle has a guarantee of success. It is often used immediately following a set of simple instructions and roughly carries the same meaning as the phrase "and there you have it." For example, "Simply put a piece of ham between two slices of bread, and Bam! Bob’s your uncle!”.

Too funny, huh? It's so nice to have an Uncle Bob~

The more we get together...the happier we'll be~

I'm a bit behind in posting holiday pics & stuff. Here's a nice start with the 2007 Roomie Cookie Swap!

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Speaking of getting together, I'm heading to Gracie's preschool today as a guest to demonstrate using our voice as an instrument. So we'll sing a bit and then we'll sing with signs. "The More We Get Together" and "Mary Had a Little Lamb" are on the list to sing/sign. This should be fun!

Despite the snow, we've had a great week thus far including some snow play. We also got together with old friends...my old friend, Deb & her family. Deb has 3 kids & Gracie loves them ALL! Talk about a happy day. Dressing up, Barbie play, dressing up, running around and more dressing up. Annie has a couple cheerleader outfits, which are a diversion from the princess theme. The girl is flexible, adapting quite well to cheering with pom poms in heels. Bummer, Annie has only one pair of heels. We are going shopping before we go back to Annie's. The tears! The tears at sharing that one pair of pumps. We'll take shoes next time. AND a sleepover is in the works. Annie is confident she'll want to stay for days....HA! We'll see.

While mom was at an adult function (congratulations Kim & Joe!), Grace visited Fair Oaks Farm in Indiana with NSE. This is a working dairy farm that has a ton of cool stuff for kids. Grace watched a calf being born! What a story!
Plus, they brought back some tasty ice cream for moi! Can't wait to go there myself in the Spring. These images are from the Fair Oaks Farm website.

Happy snowy day, AGAIN!!