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Is your friend a blogger? Do you even know what the heck she’s doing on her blog//online diary? Because it’s really an online diary where she talks about her kids’ poopy diapers, right? I had no idea what a blog was before I started blogging, and heck, even well into the blogging, four years ago. I truly thought it was like a few ladies talking about either their traumatic recoveries from birth, or their kids’ poop. Now I’m sure my friends who don’t read my blog think the same of me: poop & birth stories. And, my friends who do, know this is the case. If you are a blogger, and your friend is a blogger, and your blog is smaller than hers, how can you support her? If you are a blogger and your friend is a blogger, and your blog readership is bigger than hers, how can you support her? I think the answer to all three scenarios: you’re a normal non-blogger, you’re a small-time blogger, or you’re a big-time blogger. 1) Subscribe to the blog. Even if you don’t always read it, or heck, never read it. You’re helping her “numbers” and being supportive. That’s awesome of you. My first non-family subscriber four years ago was a good family friend, single dude, early thirties, who by no means wanted to read my blog. I’m pretty sure he’s never unsubscribed. And pretty sure he’s never read it. I almost cried for appreciation. (weird? yeah, I’m a blogger) 2)…
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It’s Turkey Time. Or Pie Time. You name it. This week’s Week Eats I’m just going to talk about Thanksgiving. For us it’s a huge meal with china & silver & starched linen napkins with a very full table. So let’s be honest, I’ll serve leftovers & breakfast for dinner until then 🙂 but maybe make these rolls for the morning of? Welcome to Week Eats! Your weekly meal plan link up // comment on for inspiring each other. For your perusal: the first week when I had lots of pictures. The second week when you had lots of ideas. The third week when I was out of steam and you guys saved the bacon // dinner. The fourth week when I tried lots of your recipes and my family ooooo’d and aaaaa’d. Back to the turkey. Check out Smitten Kitchen’s Thanksgiving Ideas. Or Pioneer Woman. 1) Turkey To brine or not to brine. A big turkey or two smaller. Free-range or no. These are lots of questions. We’ve tried it all and when serving our typical 20+ group have gone with two smaller birds. A twenty pound bird is not as juicy. It’s just not, in my opinion. *note: NOT A CHEF* Brining is lovely and makes you feel like you’re really working for your food. Of course, if you over cook it like often happens around here, it doesn’t save your juicy taste. Free-range meat in general is a big priority for us, even though it costs…
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Oh hello lovelies! It’s me, again. I’ve been so underwater these past few weeks. I miss you! I feel like I’ve written a dozen blog posts in my head and then cannot get to my computer for uninterrupted time to actually share them with you. Earlier this week I wrote about re-centering for the holidays and I’ve been working on that not-freaking-out part all week long. I hope you’re not eyeballing Thanksgiving with a hint of the freak-out in your stomach. Be like me: procrastinate!! Actually, I’ll be sharing my Thanksgiving meal plan tomorrow for our weekly chat about meal planning: Week Eats! And early next week I’ll have all my holiday gift options for the etsy shoppe ready & raring to go. So brace yourself for fabric overload. But in the meanwhile, I’d like to gift you three things: Rebecca’s book, Cari’s book, and the Blessed is She devotional advent journal. /// Rebecca’s book. Teaching in Your Tiara: a homeschooling book for the rest of us. She blogs at Shoved to Them. I met Rebecca briefly at the Edel Gathering last summer. We chatted in the lobby. She was so down to earth and funny. HECK very funny. When I realized she was an author of a homeschooling guide, I was all can i read and review your book and give one away?? She was all: yes. You see when we first started thinking about schooling options, as all first time parents do, I was probably pregnant with our first…
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Breathe in. Breathe out. Relax your shoulders. Now relax your calves. Shrug your nose and smile (relaxes your lips). Repeat after me: I (I) Will (will) Not (not) FREAK (freak) OUT (out) about (about) the (the) holidays (holidays). —- Got that squared away. But really, I do get tense about the holidays for all the wrong reasons. Instead of focusing on how wonderful it will be to spend Thanksgiving weekend here for a change of pace, I’m worrying about trying to get my pie crusts done this week and into the freezer. When I contemplate Christmas, I start the mental jigsaw puzzle of where everyone will sleep in the house when family arrives and try to make a mental checklist of which gifts I’ve gotten already and which I need to still. What I want to think about is my wonderful family. My family who helps play and love our children. My family who travels long distances when my sis-in-law is uncomfortably in her third trimester (with her toddler!!) to come and be with us. My sister who will set aside her busy business in peak insanity and come and let loose her kids on my kids’ toys. My nieces who will shriek with joy and trembling at all the insanity of our household with three little ones. My brother who came for a long weekend with his son so we could get special time as they can’t come later for the real holidays. You know how the holiday stress…
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My sweet little SweetPea. She’s two and a half now. Fierce & firey and always ready to slay you with a glare or a smile. AA likes to call her our honey bunzzzzzz. Or hunky. Or big sweets. The irony being that she’s quite petite. In addition to her pretty petite size she has been suffering from eczema the past year or so. Heredity, sorry to say, from me & my hay fever allergies. Her older brother had it too and outgrew it. We’re hopeful she will as well. We’ve tried everything. The diet changes. The elimination of everything. The skin treatments. The heavy hitters. The organic balms. The bleach baths. The oatmeal baths. The lotion twice or three times a day. Our allergist has been quite supportive even when our treatments fell outside the “norm” in kind. We’ve come to the conclusion that it cannot be healed, contrary to every natural foodie article I’ve read on the topic, but it can be managed. We wash with no soap unless necessary, and then use my sister’s mild baby soap. We oil immediately after bathing with this rosehip seed oil, and cover patches of broken skin with a honey bumble balm. When necessary, we’ll use the steroid creams, but given our new methodology, we haven’t had to use it in a long time. The new methodology includes . . . Really really soft washcloths & towels for bathing. I mean, like really, really soft. Enter: Peacock Alley and their bamboo bath…
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Dear fellow people who eat, Yes! We are at week four of this really awesome meal sharing business. I cannot tell you how it has helped me plan in advance, and in arrears, with your delicious advice! For your perusal: the first week when I had lots of pictures. The second week when you had lots of ideas. The third week when I was out of steam and you guys saved the bacon // dinner. So I’ve got big plans again as last week was such a burn out. Monday: Mary’s suggestion from last week: Creamy Tomato Soup with basil. Going to de-frost our stock from scratch for it. Grilled cheese with it? Yes, please. Vermont Cabot Cheddar from Costco. You know it. Photo by the chef over at Shared Appetite. Tuesday: Cecilia’s lentils from last week: Lentils in vino! She suggested serving with sautéed greens. No probs. Got a ton from the garden in the freezer! Photo by Judy over at the recipe: Wednesday: Domestic Apologist’s Baked Chicken Serving this bad boy Alice Waters’ ratatouille. Just rubbing down a roaster chicken with butter, olive oil, stuff slices of garlic under the skin, and stuffing it with whatever fresh herbs I can muster up. Photo from the rata recipe: Thursday: Chewy Morsels’ Zuppa Contadina Zuppa Contadina with pork sausage and a loaf of crusty Italian bread for dipping. Taking these pages from Laurel!! Friday: Maggie’s White Bean Pizza from the other week ::white bean pizzas (drain a can of white beans,…
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