Creativity, Here I Come!

Starting June 6th, I'll be participating in a 2-week long e-course on creativity.
(I haven't decided on my medium yet, but I'm leaning towards scrapbooking.)

For all the details, go here.

One Million Giraffes

Through blog browsing I found out about the One Million Giraffes project and thought it would be fun to participate!

I asked Breck if he wanted to make a giraffe and he was all for it!
We even watched a show with giraffes on it this morning. Good timing!

So, we got out our big paper - this is a giraffe after all! :)
I (poorly) drew a giraffe, cut some paper and then let Breck glue the pieces on our little guy.

This evening I sent our lovely giraffe on it's way to be one in a million!

365-102: Name Photo

This photo is pulling double duty!

I took it for a name gallery for a little boy who's soon undergoing heart surgery. You can read more about Leo, and how you can contribute/participate in the name gallery, here.

Apple Peel Jelly: My Destiny

Here's the story of my journey to Apple Peel Jelly.

One hot summer day, several months ago, I went to CVS to do my once a month shopping trip (the nearest CVS is an hour away, so I don't make it there very often). And as I was sorting my coupons for a killer deal, a woman approached and asked if I could use some coupons, as she had too many. "What a kind thing to offer." I thought to myself. We chatted briefly about coupons (we both had coupon binders!) and she told me of her blog, Simply Cara...Cara with a 'C'.

Once I arrived home, I hopped on the computer to find Cara's blog. After a few searches, I was there. So, I bookmarked the site and now visit weekly. Not long ago, she posted about a blog she found, Happy to be Called Mommy, that had wonderful apple preserving recipes, one being Apple Peel Jelly. I was intrigued, so I clicked through and read the post.

The recipe sounded easy enough, but I didn't have any apples. And, not having a plan for all the apples I would need in order to get the required amount of peels, I put off buying any. (at the time I didn't know just how easy applesauce is to make!)

About one week later, up pops a post on freecycle for apples! And the rest is history!

So, the moral of my story: Shopping at CVS=Apple Peel Jelly. Ok, not really...but, I can't help but think of all the things that had to happen for me to arrive at this yummy end product...which makes me think of all the other things/events/people/decisions in my life that have laid the path to where I am now....and even bigger, that God doesn't merely have a plan for each of us, it's more like a personalized 1200-piece orchestra!

btw...the jelly is delicious and it really is that pretty red color!

A Blog Worth Blogging About

For my readers (aka: family and friends!) who enjoy cooking and trying new recipes, you'll want to read this!

You may have noticed a few new sites recently added to my blogroll...Somehow I stumbled upon a really cool blog called "Everyday Food Storage & Preparedness". It is one of the coolest site I have ever visited, as far as cooking blogs go! Crystal, the owner/blogger, shares tons of great cooking ideas from how to sneak veggies into foods so they still taste good to recipes using those run-away veggies from your garden (she recently featured zucchini and yellow squash, much to my delight!) to recipes using what you already have in your cupboard! (my fav is how to make sweetened condensed milk from scratch!)

She always, or almost always, has tons of pictures to go with her posts and every so often will make a video tutorial on how to do something. Being a visual person, this kind of format keeps me coming back!

The other night I made her Broiled Zucchini. It was ok...I'm sure it would have tasted better had I not BURNED IT!!! (I really shouldn't multi-task while broiling!) I'm very seriously thinking about making the Death by Chocolate Zucchini Cake...yes you read it correctly! hmmm...(light bulb ON)....maybe I'll make that for Sunday's family get-together!!!! (yes, I'll still bring the cheesecake!)