Maybe I should stop wondering and start working.

 

I often find myself wondering  things. Why can’t I get anything done?  Why is my birthday a month past and I have not sent out any thank you notes?  Do you think these plums will turn into fabulous jelly all by themselves?  When do you think the girls will be able to wash their own hair?  And get all the soap out?  Will I survive a 1st birthday and two 10th birthdays in one week?

Sometimes I think if I had less stuff going on, I could get more stuff done.  While this may be true, I have figured a few things out when it comes to stuff getting done.

1.  Nothing is more important than the things I do for my family. 

2.  Dirty clothes and dishes don’t wash themselves but they will wait patiently until after everyone goes to bed. 

3.  And the things we do for others are the most rewarding when they are done because we are able to do them and for no other reason. 

October gets kind of crazy at our house.  We celebrate our anniversary and all the girls birthdays.  We have my sisters coming to visit.  The girls have changed their mind about what they want to be for Halloween at least 100 times already.  And that is just the family stuff!   We have a whole bunch of things going on at church that will be  great to attend (and maybe plan too :)  and I am sure there are things going on at school that I am not even aware of yet.

And on top of all that I am so thankful that I have time to fill in at church, get together for coffee dates, help Scott clean off his desk,  watch the big girls chase the little girl around the chair and read books before I tuck everyone into bed. 

I love being busy.  It forces me to slow down so I don’t miss out on anything. 

So tomorrow I start my list for October, mostly so I don’t forget anything.  And I think I will start with this for the birthday festivities. 

 

This is one of the cutest blogs I have come across lately and I am using all her great party stuff for the girls birthday party.  Stay tuned for all the details. 

And the winner is…

A few posts back I put up the recipes we entered in the Corn Roast Festival recipe contest.

The  Old-Fashioned Corn Roast Festival is the oldest and one of the largest community festivals in Loveland. Weekend activities included a Friday night street dance, roasted and boiled corn for sale, live music and Loveland's Got Talent Contest, beer garden, corn shucking contest, corn eating contest, corn recipe contest, parade and more.

I wanted to enter the corn eating contest but after a few practice tries at home, I realized I didn’t have a chance and stuck with the recipe contest.  And it is a good thing I did!

 

Corn Recipe

• Corn Relish Winner - Marybeth Hammond, Feta Corn Salsa

• Corn Chowder Winner - Kellee Zweifel, Santa Fe Corn Chowder (that’s me :)

• Corn Casserole Winner - Maryjo Morgan, Fried Corn

• Corn Chowder Winner: Junior category- Brea Hammond, TexMex Taco Soup

• Corn Salad Winner: Laura Burrill, Texas Tailgate Caviar

• Judge’s Choice: Laura Burrill, Texas Tailgate Caviar (look at Laura go!)

See that big trophy?  That is because she is the Judge’s Choice winner!  Way to go Laura! 

We celebrated by refilling our fresh squeezed lemonades  and toasting Mom for giving us the recipes and sharing a funnel cake.  It turned out to be a great day.

Things I send in the mail

 

I wish I lived closer to my sisters.  That way when they ask what they should serve for their upcoming parties, I could just make them some stuff instead of just making suggestions.

So my sister Lauren had a house blessing on Sunday and served a variety of cookies outside on a table underneath a tree in her yard.  It turned out super cute.  I wish I could have been there but instead I sent these. ( And paper lanterns from Dollar Tree but that is another story.)

 

And my sister Adriane is having some people over on Saturday. Again, I wish I could go but I can’t so I have these to offer.   

Sorry Adriane, I am not sending you the LWML cookies.  I know you are disappointed.  They were extras and completely experimental.

So the moral of this story is to invite me, knowing I can’t come,  in hopes that you will get a  box of cookies in the mail :)

Martha ain’t got nothin on me

I don’t really read Martha Stewart’s blog. 

Her personal life, I could do without.  But when I saw this as her post for the other day, I had to check it out.

1. Because I wondered when her birthday actually is. It is August 3rd.

2.  Because mine is August 29th and the last thing I want is to share a birthday with Martha.  DeAnn I am fine with :) Just not Martha. 

If you click on the link you can see the pictures and the rest of the famous guests too!( I don’t even know who half of them are!)

August 26th, 2010

My Joint Birthday Party With Harry Slatkin

A few weeks ago, I went out to dinner with my good friends, Harry Slatkin, the fragrance tycoon, and his wife, Laura.  We chose a new restaurant in Montauk, the far-east end of the South Fork of Long Island.  Its name is Navy Beach, a beachfront restaurant and bar serving casual coastal cuisine in a laid back, family-friendly setting.  While dining, we looked around and said, “Wouldn’t this be a great place to have a birthday?”  And so we started planning.  Harry and I never celebrated our birthdays together before, but it seemed like a fun thing to do.  Dinner consisted of everyone’s favorite comfort food, including iceberg wedges, butter poached lobster rolls, buttermilk fried chicken, truffled macaroni and cheese, seafood and chips, parmesan French fries and a several-layer chocolate cake.  Harry!  What do you think?  Should we try it again, next year?

So let me take this opportunity to compare this with my birthday.  Which is actually the point of this post. 

1.  Since it was on a Sunday, I went to church and it was a communion Sunday for us. Nothing like starting off your birthday will all the saints.

2.  My children gave me hand made cards. And I know my husband purchased a card for me BEFORE the actual day :)

3.  I got a box from my sisters with the most thoughtful contents. 

4. I got a box from my parents with the most thoughtful contents.

5. I got tons of FB Happy Birthday wishes, lots of texts and phone calls.

6. We went to my in-laws house for a wonderful supper. 

7.  I got to eat some fabulous chocolate pasta and enjoy it with some great company. 

  I got to celebrate my day with the most important things to me.  Church, family, friends and food.  It really doesn’t get any better than that. No matter how old you are.

Thanks everyone!

Need Something to Do?

Head on over here and check out cute thing upon cute thing! 

ONE PRETTY THING

I am particularly fond of the cake buntings that are popping up all over these days. They would be so cute on a set of cupcakes too.  And made out of paper instead of fabric, you could make them completely personalized. 

Did I mention that I have 3 milestone birthdays in my house all in one October week?  I am thinking and planning ahead!

File Folders and the Corn Roast Festival

I would consider myself a fairly organized person.  I can find things when I need them without having to look too hard :)  

Like this recipe for example.  It was in my email in the folder labeled recipes because it came straight from Mom.  Where else would it be? :)

Sun, April 5, 2009 9:17:28 PM

Recipes for Laura

All this brings me to the point of this post.  Laura and I both entered recipes in the recipe contest for the upcoming Corn Roast Festival here in town.  The recipes had to be turned in by Friday and the festival is the last weekend in August. 

Go here to read all about it and the judging criteria for the recipes.  In the mean time, here is Laura’s entry.

Texas Tailgate Caviar

1  15 oz. can red beans, rinsed and drained

1  11-15 oz. can corn, rinsed and drained

1  15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained twice

2 mid sized roma tomatoes

1/2 to 1  red or green pepper, diced

(cilantro, optional)

-Marinade-

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 cup canola or olive oil

1/2 cup white sugar

1 T water

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Mix marinade ingredients until dissolved. (A 16 oz. jar works well to mix by shaking.) Pour over veggies and marinate for 2 hours up to 2 days. This keeps well for 3-4 days. Serve as a salad or as a salsa with 'scoops' corn chips. (Drain off marinade before serving and add back to leftovers, if desired.)

 

And here is mine.  Compliments of the Marcus Cookbook and Grammy.  There really is nothing better than some fresh sweet corn to finish off the summer! Wish us luck!

 

Santa Fe Corn Chowder

3 ½ cups fresh corn kernels

1 cup chicken broth

¼ cup butter

2 cups milk

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons diced green chilis (canned)

1 cup cooked chicken, diced

1 cup Monterey jack cheese, grated

¼ teaspoon baking soda

Combine corn and chicken broth in a blender and puree.

In a large sauce pan combine butter and corn mixture and simmer slowly for 5 minutes.

Add milk, oregano, salt and pepper and bring to boiling.

Reduce heat and add green chilis and chicken. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and add cheese and soda. Stir until melted.

Serve with warm flour tortillas. Makes 6 servings.

No I have not become a Vikings fan.

 

So to toot my own horn, here are the pictures of the cookies I made last week and my good friend Jan photographed for me :) 

I agreed to donate a  silent auction item of a few baked goods for the Buffalo Wild Wings golf tournament that is coming up next weekend.   I worked at the BWW in Rochester for several years before we moved to Colorado and so of course I couldn’t say no:)

 

Check out this site, Bake at 350 for some super cute cookies! 

Since all these great Minnesota sports cookies actually have to be shipped to Minnesota,  I found this  video to help me pack them so they get there all in one piece, hopefully!

 

Now I am off to find some packing peanuts and boxes!