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Today my niece, Sophie, turns one year old! It’s hard to believe a whole year has gone by already, but I remember the big day like it was yesterday … which is pretty surprising given my memory usually. My sister was scheduled for a c-section on Saturday, but the prior Thursday morning, we awoke to phone calls that she was at the hospital and had had the baby. Apparently Miss Sophie was on her own schedule. It’s been a very fun year of getting to know her, and it’s amazing how much changes from month to month. I can’t wait to see what the next year brings, especially as the girls get older and grow up together.
Miss Madeline turns 8 months old today, but I’m going to do her recap tomorrow. Today, the spotlight is all Miss Sophie. Happy Birthday!
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She so didn’t know why we were laughing at her. When she’s 16 and starting to date, I am dragging these pictures out to show prospective suitors.
She loves Banana Pancakes almost as much as Nicholas does. Maybe even more.
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$7 Dinner Challenge
With the economy in question, it’s no surprise that families everywhere are looking for ways to save on everything from electricity to food. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to make a great meal on a budget. That’s what The $7 Dinner Challenge is all about.
In doing The $7 Dinner Challenge, besides challenging ourselves (that would be Sarah and I), we want to make sure that what we’re making is accessible, so readers can actually make these meals for $7 as well.
Have a food blog and want to join in the fun? When we post on Monday nights, feel free to leave us a link with your post — the more the merrier.
The Ground Rules:
- You have $7 to create a complete dinner for four, to include the main course and either an appetizer or dessert.
- Your meal must include a serving of vegetables for each person.
- Items such as bread can be prorated (total cost of loaf/slices used).
- Salt and pepper are free — no need to count these into the cost total.
- No frozen meals. You actually have to make something (however it can have premade components).
- You must state where you get your pricing info from, and it must be current to the date posted (as in, if the sale is over, the current price is the one that counts).
So if you’re looking for delicious food without breaking the bank, be sure to tune in every Monday night and see what we’re all cooking up … with just $7.
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Posted by Cate under
Narrative
I always struggle with which recipes I should share, and which I should skip over. If a recipe is just ok, should I post it? I go on both sides with this … if I mention I’m making something, and then it turns out just ok, I kind of feel like I should tell you, to save you wasting your time and ingredients making it. But then on the other hand, how much space to devote to a recipe that was just ok? It’s a mighty fine tightrope, I tell you. Mighty fine.
With tonight’s Presidential debate on in the background and speaking of “ok” recipes, it’s as good a time as any to bring up Barack Obama’s Chili that I made last week. Barack, seriously? This is the recipe you want to be known for? This is a recipe you shared on Good Morning America? Barack, seriously? I’m not even going to get into the should-a-real-chili-recipe-have-beans-or-not debate. I’m going to leave that one alone. But Senator, where is the heat? Where is the spice? And, quite frankly, where is the taste?
Now don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t bad. It was just ok, nothing special. If it wasn’t for the fact that The Huffington Post lists this recipe as the one Barack brags about, I might not have given it a second thought. But with such a buildup… When I tasted it after following the recipe to the letter, I needed to get busy doctoring it enough that it would pass muster. To keep things easy, I added barbecue sauce and a dash of Worcestershire. I can promise you this, it might have made airtime with Good Morning America, but I urge you to exercise your right and vote no. Pass this one on by. I’m sure, I just know, that Barack has much better recipes up his sleeves for us. This just wasn’t one of them. He’s just holding them back for later.
Continue reading this entry…
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Nicholas and I have been slowly making our way through our 100 Book Challenge, and we’re nearly 25% of the way there. I think we can totally do it. Challenge aside, the focus on reading consistently every night has been nice. We both look forward to it, and he carefully chooses books each night to read, sometimes choosing one for me to read to both of them, sometimes choosing one for me to read that is more for Maddie, and sometimes even choosing one for him to read to Maddie. When reading, he insists that I hold the book up like a teacher would when reading to her class, so that they both can see the pictures and follow along.
It’s been a great time for us to bond, quiet our minds (hey, mine needs quieting sometimes too!) and just relax, which is, of course, easier said than done with an energetic six-year-old and a baby that does.not.sit.still.anymore. But as Nicholas says, “good times, Mama, good times.”
Got a bit caught up on updating our list, and we’ve visited with dogs, bunnies, pumpkins and Baby Bundt recently. We have a few favorite old-time classics coming up, some that even though they’ve been around for over 50 years, I’ve never even read myself. Have any new favorites that we should add to the list?
Writing Here, There and Everywhere … a to-die-for vinaigrette that ends a 10+ year search of mine over on MyRecipes.com, officially the Summer Drink of ‘08 and my latest piece on Delish about an interesting positive to come out of the current economic situation.
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