Not Me Monday

I had this great idea for a blog post this morning, but then, I did NOT forget what it was between now and then.  I did NOT spend some good amount of time cuddling on the bed with Aron Rattlecat (the fattest cat in the house) and ignoring all my other responsibilities.  Nope, I would never do that.  I also did NOT make fresh chocolate chip cookies in bar form and then eat the middle while they were still warm.  NEV-AH!

I did not neglect my blog since last week and not post a thing about the holiday, the kids, my continuing morning sickness and lack of weight loss.  Nope, my last post was definitely NOT dated June 28, 2010.

And I *SO* did NOT post this on TUESDAY since I forgot what day it was. Geez, can I read the calendar?






So, I like the idea of Not Me Monday, can you tell?  Join in the fun:

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did, however, become a Body Image Warrior.  See that awesome new button to the right there?  Check it out.

Oooey Gooey Chocolate Goodness for Fried Okra

Megan at Fried Okra hosted a chocolate recipe exchange-a-roonie thing a few weeks ago and since I'm chronically late, behind, slow, (fill in your favorite adjective), I'm just now getting to it. So, here it be. [Stolen] Borrowed from a La Leche League friend from Poland. Sooooooooooooooooooo yummy!

Chocolate Salami - with notes from Leida

1/2 lb. crushed cookies (animal crackers, vanilla wafers, or any kind of cookie you would like...as long as it is not overly sweet)

1 egg yolk

approx. 1/2 cup sugar (or condensed milk, or honey or practically anything that sweetens it)

4-5 TBS cocoa (you can put as much cocoa as you would like; it really depends on how cocoa-y you want it)

1/4 c. milk

1 stick of butter, melted


I have inherited my cooking style from my mom, who doesn't cook with measurements (neither do I), so I will try to do my best and explain how I cook the chocolate salami, but it may not be as precise as other recipes are.

Well, I normally crush the cookies with a blender (the blender has the ice breaker option which works well for crushing cookies). Don't worry too much about crushing the cookies finely, as some chunks make it taste better.

Then add 4-5 tbs of cocoa, and 1/2 cup sugar, and mix it well.

In a separate bowl melt butter, add milk and an egg yolk. Mix it well and add it to the cookie mix.

Now here is the approximation: if the mixture is too wet, add cookie crumbs. If it is too dry add butter or milk.

When you get it to a good consistency (where it clumps together easily), wrap part of it in plastic wrap and roll it in the shape of a salami. Repeat for the remaining mixture. Then, freeze them for several hours.

Slice it and serve cold. That was easy, right... or would you say confusing!

It's good to slice them thick - so yummy. Not gooey, I guess, but enough chocolate to satisfy even the best of us choc-o-holics. Make sure you visit Fried Okra for more chocolate-y yummies.

And don't forget Dad!!

ULTIMATE Blog Party 2008!

Welcome to my Blog Party! This is the week 5 Minutes for Mom have set aside for us blog fantatics to get to know each other! Here's my blurb:

I'm a stay home mom in Idaho. My three oldest are girls and all in school - 5th, 3rd, and 1st grades. My youngest is a boy and somewhat of a terror at times! He's almost 4. Baby Bunting will be joining our family this mid-summer and we're so excited!

I love my etsy shop, my sewing work, and my family. I attend a Bible Study Fellowship class each week and we're studying Matthew this year. Hubbers is into aggressive inline roller blading and (of all things for a 30+ year old) break dancing! The kids are actually getting pretty good at it! We hit the skate park weekly in the summer and the roller rink weekly in the winter. The kids are VERY good at inline blading, even TheBoy is getting better.

You can read the about me to the side, and it pretty much says it all. Welcome, readers! Please feel free to leave me a comment. I'm pregnant and cranky/tired, but I'll come and visit you, too!

Party On, Excellent!!

This is a sticky post and will stay at the top of my blog until 14 March and the end of the party. You can see more recent posts below this.

My, My... It's That Time Again!

Wait, what's that up there at the top of my fantabulous blog? It's the Ultimate Blog Party Banner!

Yep, 5 Minutes for Mom is hosting the Ultimate Blog Party again this year. I can't wait - my toes are all tingly! There were more than 1000 bloggers who participated last year and this year it's open to NON bloggers as well. Women only, however. Sorry Mike.

The incentive? Prizes. Lots of Prizes. Bound to be one of them chocolate, right?

Visit the party post to learn more and get ready to boogie with me and the belly bump. Can't wait to see ya!

National Wear an Apron Day - May 14

Yep, I heard it at KitchenMaddona's site first: National Wear an Apron Day! Here's her press release:

Right now, women across the United States and the blogosphere are searching thrift stores, ebay, and their mother's linen drawers for aprons to wear May 14th. Some are making their own. Wearing their aprons inside and outside of their homes, Apron Moms will celebrate their pivotal role in making a house a home.

As the search for domestic bliss continues, a search that includes cleaning and decluttering, cooking tasty nutritious meals, educating children, and the care and feeding of husbands, women will celebrate the difference they make in the lives of their families. They know an apron is like a uniform that conveys authority, unconditional regard, and motherly wisdom all at once. Apron Moms know aprons are about cooking and cleaning but they are also about emotional availablity, hospitality, and femininity.

On Monday, May 14th, apron wearing women will drop children off at school, go to the post office and grocery store, and greet their families at the door wearing their aprons. Some will go to their work outside of the home. But regardless of where they spend most of their day, they will post pictures on their blogs of the places they boldly wear their aprons.

There will be a virtual cocktail party at 5pm CST to giggle about our experiences, to toast the internet's role in bringing us together, and to plan next year's Apron Mom March on Washington.

The devil very well may wear Prada but authentically feminine women wear aprons!

For further information, please email the Kitchen Madonna at kitchenmadonna@mac.com.

Image courtesy of MorgueFile and sideshowmom

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World Breastfeeding Week: August 1 - 7

Wordless Wednesday for Pets

Check out more Wordless Wednesday. Photo courtesy of I Can Has Cheezeburger?

Updated: Spring FLING! ORGANIZING Extravaganza!

Today I worked on the linen shelves at the end of the hall - where the kids keep their bed linens. After reading Organizing Junkie's inspiring linen closet post, I just knew I had to purge and sort mine.

Sadly, I'm a packrat and have a hard time letting go. I pitched donated a whole bag of sheets and pillowcases to the local La Leche League garage sale for this summer.

I'm still avoiding the pillow graveyard in my master bedroom closet, but I'll get there. And yeah, I forgot to take pics before I did my work. Better go get the rest of the clutter shots before I do any more damage work.

Join in the fun over at Organizing Junkie's 30 Day Organizational Challenge.

Menu Plan Monday - 15 April to 22 April

I chose all my recipes this week, with the exception of bean and cheese burritos and leftovers, from this book:

My step-mom introduced me to this book several years ago and I love it! Click on the picture above and browse through it over at Amazon.com and see if you don't get what I mean.

Here's my menu for this week:

1. Beef Stroganoff over Egg Noodles - pg 133
2. Bean and Cheese Burritos - refried and black beans
3. Creamy Chicken Dijon over Noodles - pg 57
4. Pizzuchini - pg 75
5. LaZonya - pg 79
6. Leftovers/Pizza
   

You can find more Menu Plan Monday entries over at Organizing Junkie's blog, as well as the 30 Day Organizational Challenge. Yes, my master bedroom closet seems to be the old pillow graveyard. I'll be posting pictures as soon as tomorrow, so be prepared...

Spring FLING! ORGANIZING Extravaganza!

**Updated!**
I have cleaned and organized both kids' rooms (with their help) and my computer desk! Starting small, working toward the larger chore.


I meant to do this long before now, but here it is. I'm joining Organizing Junkie's 30 Day Organizational Challenge.

Problem is, there's SO MUCH that needs organized that I'm having trouble starting. So I'll start little and go from there. Watch for horror inducing photos of my death defying feats of cleaning! purging! organizing!

Visit Organizing Junkie for more info and to join in the F-U-N!

Who Brought the Chips?

March 2-9. Online ONLY. Everyone's invited. PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED!
Click the image for more info...

Welcome to my house on the Bloggy Block party!! We're not the biggest. Not the cleanest (shhhh... don't tell!). We're just the COOLEST partyin' bloggers in my house! Well, I am anyway, since no one else blogs...

We've got a whole WEEK to get to know each other, so let's start now.

Hi, I'm Sara, mom of The Estrogen Files. My mind is as cluttered as my blog but my family loves me anyway. I have four brats kids who drive me insane hourly. All but the youngest is in school. Hubbers is an engineer who works for the government, which is cause for insanity itself.

I live in snowy Idaho. I've come to the conclusion that Idaho is an Indian word that means "The Wind Never FREAKIN' STOPS blowin'!" We've lived here 10 years and our house is only 1400 square feet. Saying that we're a little cramped is an understatement.

I like to craft with crochet hooks, paper and scrapbooks, and web design. I own my own sewing business called WAHMom.com (Work at Home Mom). Once upon a time I could wear skinny jeans. Now I go to Curves and joined Therefore, What - a weightloss blog.

I enjoy spreading my maniacy (is that a word? kind of maniac and lunacy all rolled together?) to all and sundry. Welcome to The Estrogen Files!

Leave me a comment and I'll be sure to visit your blog, too. I LIVE for comments, you know. Don't we all?

In case that's not enough "sara" for you, check out my 100 Things post.

This is a sticky post -- scroll down for the latest bloggy news below.

Party Pause...

Alright you party fiends - I've partied SO much that my carpal tunnels are awful "hurty"! I'm breaking from the festivities today but will return tomorrow. Back in force, back in the saddle, ready for more chips and dip, soda and fudge, Pepcid and Pepto.

Who DID bring the chips?!

We Have Birthday Completion, Houston...

Whew. What a day. My oldest baby turned 10 today. Where did the time go? seems like just yesterday I was anxious for her birth, expecting her first word, watching her explore the yard for the first time. Now she tells me "But MOM! I'm ALMOST a TEENAGER!!"

I told L the other day that I was too young to have a daughter as tall as her. She didn't know quite what to think. But as she's lived with us the whole 10 years of her life, she's learned to let most of it just roll.

Like the time I told her that she wasn't going to have a birthday this year. Eyes rolled and the "Yeah Right" expression appeared. (And not for the first time, either.) She's come to express her feelings in one small statement: "You're SO weird." Naturally the other kids have taken it up as their life motto.

We had a small family party this evening, complete with turtle brownies with green frosting, presents, and birthday spanks. Somehow during the counting of the spanks I kept loosing my place and having to start over again. Darn old age... We'll have the obligatory friends party on Saturday at the roller rink, thereby combining both our regular Saturday exercise session with friends and more cake for a truly sugared up good time for all.

Meanwhile, why don't you click on that Ultimate Blog Party picture right over there in my sidebar and join us March 2 - 9? It's free, there will be prizes awarded, more people will visit your blog and satisfy your comment cravings, there will be prizes and it's all hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom. (Did I say there would be prizes?) Click the link up there and check it out!

See at the Par-tay!

Lenten Blog Carnival

Be sure to check out the Lenten Blog Carnival over at Homemaking Through the Church Year put together by Jessica - thank you so much!!

As you ask yourself "What is a Lenten Blog Carnival?" let me explain. Jessica has put together a giant list (I didn't count how many but LOTS!) of posts about Lent - meditations, experiences, prayer, family, links (like mine) and more from the three largest divisions of the church: Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant.

In case you missed out on this one, Jessica had this to say:

And, if you're like me, and much as you love Lent, [you] just can't wait for that second Sunday of April to roll around, be assured that there'll be a first annual Easter Blog Carnival too. Stay tuned for details!

So click on over to her place and check out all the great Lenten posts.

Blessings of Christ be yours~

sara