Wordless Wednesday

(Michael W. Smith & Steven Curtis Chapman, on tour for the first time. I'll be watching them live tonight in Ft. Lauderdale. Can't wait!) Oh, sorry...that's not very wordless.

No matter who wins...

God is STILL in control. Of this, I am sure.

Voting To-Do List

Tasks completed:
1. Borrow (amazing) double stroller from a friend.
2. Arrange childcare should the line be longer than an hour.
3. Sync and charge iPod.
4. Grab my copy of Twilight to read.
5. Figure out where I'm supposed to vote.
6. Charge camera battery!

To-Do:
1. Pack lots of snacks and drinks to bribe kids with, should the line take a while.
2. Pack toys and books for kids so I can entertain them in line.
3. Don't forget to restock diaper stash.

I know some of you are probably wondering why I didn't just take advantage of early voting. Well, I decided that since I waited over FOUR hours voting in early voting with the 2004 election that I'd just take my chances on election day.

Plus, I really want to wear my "I Voted" sticker on election day. :-) I've heard there are lots of goodies waiting for those people who vote tomorrow. Ben & Jerry's is giving away ice cream, Starbucks is giving away coffee. But you need that darn sticker to get the yummy stuff. (Too bad the only convenient B&J's has closed down, and I don't drink coffee.)

All that to say, get out there and vote!

CAMERA!

Tonight I picked up the second of my two anniversary gifts! Here it is.




It's still in the packaging, but as soon as the kids are safely tucked into bed I'll be learning all the ins and outs of it. We picked this one because it has video/sound capability, and also because it's so small it'll fit in my pocket. Very important feature when captures moments with twin toddlers. We will still heavily rely on Dan's awesome SLR for the really good stuff, but day to day life pictures will be snapped with this.

Yay!

It's that time of year!

For the last week or so, I’ve been gearing up for 2008’s edition of NaBloPoMo. It happens every year in November. Why the powers that be choose the busiest time of the year is beyond me, but I’m making the commitment to write every day for a month. Although the rules of NaBloPoMo don’t say anything other than to write every day for a month, I felt like I needed a little more direction than that, so I’ve decided to take a few different approaches to this month. Lots of bloggers have certain days of the week that they write about something specific. I’ve chosen the three listed below.

1) Wordless Wednesday. I have several blogging friends who do this, and I think it’s pretty cool. I know some of my readers only come to check out the pictures I post, so I want to at least try to get one picture up each week.

2) Love Thursday. I miss taking the time to celebrate something good during the week, so I’m reinstating Love Thursday. In the past, this helped me focus on the little things that are good in each day.

3)Friday Five. I enjoy reading blogs with Friday Five’s in them, and each person has a different approach. Some people answer a series of five questions, while others make a list of five things that have something in common.

There are some other topics in the works, but you'll have to tune in to see what mysteries await in November! I’ve considered for a while taking a little bit more serious tone with the blog, and this may be the perfect time to do that. We’ll see.

Another recipe!

By popular demand, my take on Muddy Buddies. (Also called Puppy Chow or Reindeer Droppings, depending on what part of the country you're from.)


MacDonald Buddies

Ingredients:

6 cups Crispix
3 cups Cheerios
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl, measure your cereal; set aside.

In a 2 cup measuring cup, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High for one minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer, or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla.

Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour half of the mixture into a 1 gallon ziploc. Add 3/4 cup powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on wax paper to cool. Repeat with the remaining half of the cereal and powdered sugar.

Store in an airtight container, should any remain at the end of the night.

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I should mention that I made the above recipe after my coveted caramel brownies committed suicide by falling out of the pan and onto the floor 30 minutes after coming out of the oven. Muddy Buddies were my consolation dessert. Apparently it was as well received as the caramel brownies would have been. Who would have thought it?

...and a recipe

Buffalo Chicken Dip

1 8oz block of cream cheese
1 pound ground chicken, browned
1/2 cup wing sauce
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Dump all the ingredients above into a small crockpot, and cook for two hours, taking a moment every thirty minutes to stir.

Serve with Multigrain Tortilla chips or another, far more inferior tortilla chip if you can't find those.

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Oh my goodness, this is an amazing dip. I made it for the party on Saturday night, and after less than an hour, I was making it again because the first batch was gone! No, I can't take any real credit for the recipe, because I took the ingredients from two different recipes in the same style and made up one that sounded the best. Plus, I really wanted to use my little crock pot!

It is my intention to bring this to the next several parties that I have to attend, so if you plan to be at the same party as me, don't steal my recipe and bring it yourself. Or maybe you should, because it's so good, it will be gone in a flash!

My only regret? People ate it so quickly, that I didn't take a picture.