Sunday, March 09, 2008

Fashionably Late ...

I am fashionably late (okay, so I'm just plain late, but doesn't fashionably late sound SO much better?!) but I'm here ... and it's time to party!

Ultimate Blog Party 2008

I joined in the fun last year, and had a blast. I even ended up adding like 200 blogs to my blogroll because of last year's party! =)

For those coming for the first time, welcome to my blog! I'm Brandie. I live in a chilly suburb of Chicago. It is lightly snowing out right now, but a hint of spring is in the air! I'm married to the best guy in the whole world. Proof - as I types this he is helping my baby sister with a school project, which he had to interrupt cleaning the blinds in order to help her and he started to clean the blinds while I was still in bed sleeping because most weekends he allows me to sleep in). See I told you, I am married to the best guy ever! I stay at home with 3 kids (2 girls aged 8 and 5 and a son who is 2). In my former life I went to school to become a teacher, got my degree and decided to stay home with the kiddos! But we also homeschool, so I kind of put that degree to use =) One of the projects my 8 year old and I started was Book Reviews For Kids By Kids. I am so excited to be helping her do this, but we really do need a few more kids so that we can add posts more regularly (so go check it out, and if you have someone who might be able to help us, please please let us know! and even if you don't know someone, go check it out LOL!) Right now, I am blessed enough to be involved with things over at The Motherhood - which is another fabulous site I'll encourage you to go visit!

This blog is where I attempt to chronicle all the fun things I like to make! I have too many hobbies, which include, but are not limited to: sewing, knitting, scrapbooking, making cards, cross stitching and reading. Okay, I can't make anything from reading, but I really do love books and they are a big part of my life so they get thrown on here as well. If your lucky, I'll even talk about life at my house. ;-)

To welcome you to the party, I have prepared a VERY yummy dinner for you. (Confession time: we really made this Friday, but I really intended to write this Friday, so we'll just pretend it's Friday LOL). Tonight we'll be having:

Beef stew with carrots and potatoes
Mixed green salad
Homemade Hearty Nut Bread

Look how yummy it all looks:

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Now grab a chair, here's your plate:

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We left you a spot at the end of the table ... the kids are saying "Come on over! Party Time!"

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This meal was quite a cause for celebration in our house because it was our first attempt to have a completely local meal. Although we didn't succeed 100% - the meat, romaine lettuce, carrots, potatoes and butter were all from local farmers and growers. And the although the bread ingredients were not found locally, it was technically baked in my kitchen, so we'll count that as mostly local as well! This is a big deal because we are trying to make changes at our house - and buying food locally is one of the changes we are trying to implement! We were so excited when we discovered last weekend we had an indoor farmer's market not far from here! I've just started another blog to write about what we are doing and why we are doing it and you can check it out here. What did you ask? Am I addicted to blogging? Well, maybe just a bit! LOL

I hope you enjoyed your stay here. And if you liked it, please come back and visit us again =)

For more Parties to visit, hop on over to Five Minutes for Mom and look at all the fun you can have here!

PS - tomorrow I'll be at the Oprah show - so come back and read all about it. My Oprah journey began here, when I went the first time!

Edited to add: I didn't even realize there are PRIZES to be won! Great things people! Go here to see the prizes yourself.
My favorites, in no particular order, are:
8 — 50 Nights of Family Fun, 15 — $50 gift certificate to Kids Magical Wonder, 18 — Wrap-N-Mat and Chico shopping bag, 24 — Blog Design, 32 — Living The Dream Mom T-Shirt, 39 — $20 Gift Certificate, 45 — Custom Blog Design, 58 — Customized 6 Week Fitness Plan, 59 — $25 Cash, 60 — $25 Gift Certificate, 63 — $50 Gift Certificate, 67 — Blog Makeover, 72 — Webcam, 117 — $25 Gift Certificate, 128 — Book and DVD: Yoga For Christians, 129 — $15 Gift Certificate, 136 — Knitting Goody Bag, 140 — $20 Gift Certificate, 143 — Inspirational Novels

If I had to limit the list to 3, I'm nto sure what I would pick! I think 15, 72, and any of the blog makeovers. But, really, ALL the prizes are great - so go look and see what you can see!

32 comments:

  1. Well I still need to write my post - hehehehe
    Nice to meet you.

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  2. Welcome to the party. Your blog was fun to visit. Have fun at all the parties. Please drop by and say hello.

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  3. That bread looks soooo yummy! Welcome to the party! Now that you're here, let's get this party started! There are so many new folks to meet.

    Peek in on us at GraceFULL Days & say hi before you go! Skip over the Vicks Caring Tributes & vote for my Gracie Cakes story as one of their finalists~ Thanks in advance. http://videos.vickscaringtributes.com/videos/index.html

    GraceFULL blessing to you & yours~

    Carmen

    http://gracefulldays.blogspot.com

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  4. Anonymous1:46 AM

    Hi Brandie....guess what my 10yo and 8yo started doing yesterday. You cna't? OK I'll tell you. They came and asked me if they could each have a maths book like their big brother and sister coz they want to do book maths too. Of course, I don't dish out new books without a lecture (heehee) about all the real maths they already do, but neither do I withhold a book for a request like that.
    I gave them a couple of dice and told them to write down the nubmers that showed up when they rolled them and add them up. They don't know it yet, but in a few days I'll get them to subtract the smaller number from the bigger one.....or see how many sixes they roll......ot or or.
    Now I just want to say, please don't think I was telling you not to use workbooks - it was tongue in cheek. I firmly believe each family should seek God for how He wants to lead them. Workbooks aren't anathema;-)

    BTW, you sound like me - I'm going to bookmark you so I can look in the mirror each morning!!!!

    (I've lost track of which blogs I've met you on now - have pinny or off the bookshelf or the first thousand - I'm not sure, but I'll sign in with intricate simplicity!)

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  5. Hi Brandie! Thanks for stopping by my party post - it's great to meet you! My oldest is an Abigail too - she'll turn 7 in April. :) I like your kids book review site - what a great idea! :)

    Love your site - and can't wait to hear how things go on Oprah!

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  6. Anonymous8:39 AM

    Thanks for visiting me during the blog party! I've enjoyed meeting you.

    I can't believe you're going to Oprah today. Please, please write all about it so I can live vicariously through you and your blog.

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  7. Anonymous9:05 AM

    It's so nice to meet you. Visiting with you and your family made me feel all warm and fuzzy, inside.

    The yummy food had A LOT to do with it, I'm sure.

    Good luck on winning the webcam - it really is very cool and my kids are totally annoyed with me for, you know, just giving it away ;o)

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  8. oh yum.. a dinner party.. very tasty thank you.. It was nice to get to meet you. Thank you for stopping by my party also.

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  9. Anonymous2:56 PM

    Thanks for the party and dinner, you saved me a meal tonight :). I can't wait to check out your book review site. I might be able to give you soom more reviewers.

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  10. Anonymous3:50 PM

    Thanks for the comment on our blog and k10's toe is almost healed :). Thanks for dropping in.
    us8

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  11. Anonymous8:00 PM

    Thanks for stopping by my blog party! You know I'll be back to hear about your trip to the Oprah show!

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  12. thanks for visiting my party and coming clean about stalking me. LOL ;)
    that bread looks amazing! fun party. and good on ya for eating local. that's awesome!
    hope you had fun at oprah!

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  13. Nice to meet you! Thanks for stopping by my blog and the dinner was yummy!

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  14. Anonymous10:16 PM

    Nice to meet you! Your family is awesome! God bless you!

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  15. Anonymous10:38 PM

    I like your table! I like the fact that you homeschool. I also like that you are implementing buying locally. We have been doing the same. WOOHOO!

    I enjoyed your party.

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  16. Hi there we're from the south suburbs of Chicago but are in Southern Illinois because of school. This summer we're moving back up there or somewhere in Indiana! Dinner looks DELICIOUS! A few weeks ago I did 2 roasts in a pot from the oven, talk about juicy! How long did yours take in your crock?

    Here's mine: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sophistishe/2284402767/

    Thanks for stopping by Mommy Daddy Blog, hope to see you around more often, I'm going to add you to our blogroll!

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  17. Anonymous5:12 AM

    Thanks for stopping by and inviting me over to your party!! Hope you had a great time at Oprah!!

    Happy UBP!!!

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  18. Thanks for popping by my party; it's nice to meet you! Thank you for the wonderful meal!! (and leftovers are awesome, cuz I'm that kind of classy....)

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  19. Hey - Thanks for stopping by m,y party!! And thanks for the comments ... it's kinda sad how much comments excite me!!!
    Hey - do you think a girl can gain weight with all of these cyber party snacks? 'Cause if she can, I am in trouble!!! :)
    Be back to check ya out later!
    Becky Jo

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  20. Anonymous8:18 AM

    Your meal looks fabulous!

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  21. Thanks for stopping by my blog! I am also in Chicagoland (sort of). I'm so excited that you got to go see Oprah - I always wondered what it was like to be there in person. Happy blog party!

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  22. WOW That is a great prize list you have going. Happy party hopping. Your post has made me so hungry! LOL

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  23. Anonymous6:23 PM

    Welcome to the blog party. I'll be back to spend more time on your site!

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  24. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
    I've been following news stories about eating only locally grown crops. Have you seen the "Locavore Nation" page over at the Splendid Table website? The link is:
    http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/locavore_nation/
    The promo for this reads:
    "Locavore Nation is a year-long effort to see what it takes to live by a regionally based diet.
    Join us as 15 individuals from around the country share their experiences as they try to get 80 percent of their food from local, organic, seasonal sources and then incorporate it into tasty, healthy meals. Can they do it? Check back often as their stories unfold—and offer your comments on their actions along the way."
    Thought you'd find this interesting :-)

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  25. Thanks for visiting my party!

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  26. Anonymous10:16 AM

    Thanks so much for visiting my blog party! Got any of that stew left? Looks good! :-)

    Your hubby does sound like a keeper! I have almost all the same hobbies except for knitting. Maybe some day...

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  27. Anonymous10:56 AM

    Thanks for coming by my party! UFO ressurection, huh? I'll have to check into that.
    Party on!
    Tammy :):):)
    http://snpnmnmi.wordpress.com

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  28. Your bread looks good. As does the stew. I just made bread for the first time last week and love it!
    How exciting that you were on Oprah!

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  29. Anonymous7:53 AM

    Thanks for stopping by!
    Dinner looks great.

    I think if our 2 year olds got together it could go two ways. Either extreme mayhem, or they cancel each other out and play quietly. Personally, I could use a little quiet.

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  30. Anonymous12:10 PM

    Thanks for stopping by my party. What a neat experience to get to go to the Oprah show!

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  31. Thanks for stopping by my party. I'm usually fashionably late too. Or just plain late as it usually take about 30 minutes longer than I plan to get 2 two year olds out of the house. Thankfully, I didn't have to go anywhere for the UBP!

    That meal looks delicious and now I'm off to find out more about your Oprah show experience.

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  32. Still hopping from blog to blog... my goal is to post at each blog at least once. Nice to meet you. Happy blogging!

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Seeing your comments makes me smile! Thank you so much =)