Friday Foto Fun with A Look Back

It's time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun:-) Hey, I just realized that this post also qualifies for my good bloggie friend Alicia's weekly Friday Photo Flashback at More Than Words .

I love Facebook! The only problem is getting pictures off of it to blog about.

I have been able to catch up with lots of friends from the past and one of them is my good friend Alicia (another Alicia) from grade school. Recently, she sent me this little number:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/photo.php?pid=2396748&op=1&o=global&view=global&subj=822037877&id=645848586

Go ahead...click on it! It is worth a laugh!

or...if you can make it out:

Bon Voyage

Check out more stuff at Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom or Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus:-) And, I have added Mostly Wordless Wednesday over at Ordinary and Awesome to my list too!! Go check them all out:-)

Since my oldest was headed for Spain, I honored the occasion with the Spanish flag in cake:


She couldn't have gone to Japan...where the flag is white with a big red dot...No...she had to pick a country with details like this:

I think I pulled it off ok...don't you think?

Breaking My Heart

Today, I am taking my oldest daughter to the Chicago O'Hare airport so she can fly off to Spain for three months. My heart is breaking for me but soaring for her.

Grape Jam

Here, I am doing more menu planning with I'm an Organizing Junkie and finding more deals at Pick N Save for $5 Dinners .

Well, I survived last week only to get hit again this week. My older daughter is flying off to Spain for a semester so, the first half of the week is devoted to her. My younger daughter is starting kindergarden next week so, the second half of this week is dedicated to her. Not to mention, my mom has appointments and my grapes are coming in!!
Thank goodness Pick N Save had canning stuff on sale this week. I picked some up to make my grape jam. I use the SURE.JELL® Concord Grape Jam recipe from their site. So, I don't have a recipe this week. However, if you are wondering what the difference is between jelly and jams and everything else, I have a breakdown for you at the bottom of this post.

Here is what I am serving this week:
Sunday: Paella (Older Daughter's Going Away Party)
Monday: Eat Out (Older Daughter's Last Night here)

Tuesday: Eat Out (Take Older Daughter to Chicago)

Wednesday: Leftovers (Mom's Doctor Appt.)

Thursday: Chicken and Pasta (Younger Daughter's Dentist Appt. and Haircut)

Friday: Fish and Fries (Younger Daughter's Meet and Greet at School and Mom's Dr. Appt.)

What is the difference between jelly and jam?
Here it is from smoothest to chunkiest:-)
Jelly is made from fruit juice and is smooth.
Jam is made from a puree of fruit but it does not have fruit chunks.

Marmalade is made with the flesh and the rind of the fruit (usually citrus) but it remains smooth like jelly.
Preserves is made by cooking down the fruit so that it is chunky and not smooth like jelly.

Chutney is made from fruit or vegetables and has the consistency of a relish and not a spread.
Happy Canning:-)

Friday Foto Fun with Movies

It's time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun:-) My older daughter treated me to this earlier this week:

It's about cooking and blogging. Right up both my alleys:-)

It was a feel good movie. If you are looking for something entertaining and light, this is a great flick.

A Ladies Garden Lunch

Even though it was raining outside, we still had a great garden party. I served my Grilled Chicken Oriental Salad , watermelon and raspberry white iced tea. Yummo:-)

Lemonade Cupcakes

Another Iron Cupcake: Milwaukee Challenge. This month, the theme is summer fruit. What says summer to me more anything? Lemonade, of course. And that is what I made: Lemonade Cupcakes:

These are yellow cupcakes with lemon curd filling and lemon poured fondant in the shape of lemons inside jello to look like lemonade.

Wait...what? A cupcake in jello?

That's right! A cupcake in jello to look like a lemon in a glass of lemonade. I think it was pretty cool! Who puts cupcakes in jello? Uh...me:-)


And, I am totally a media-whore! Wisconsin Foodie was here this weekend filming me for an upcoming fall episode about this very challenge. They were they filming at the challenge too!! Totally, fun (which by the way, if you find yourself in a similar situation...don't say fun like 50 thousand times...you will just sound dumb.)

Friday Foto Fun with the MiLship

It's time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun:-) We had relatives visiting from Kansas yesterday so, my MiL through a party. She is the woman who taught me everything I know about pie making. And so, may I present the fruits from the MiLship:

That's her Cherry Pie, Peach Pie and Pineapple Upside-Down Cake:-)

Now you know where I got some skillz:-)

Pears

Check out the fruits of my pear tree!! Yummo:-)

Farmer and Sunshine at the Fair

My favorite farmer and sunshine:-)

Wisconsin State Fair

This week we tackled the Wisconsin State Fair.

When I think about this event I always think about the food! Sure, we heard bands, saw animals, smelled gorgeous flowers and beheld blue ribbons pies. Heck we even saw the pig races! But for me, the food was KING!!

There are traditions, must-haves and must-trys. For me one of the must-haves are Saz's sour cream and chive fries! They are "shut up" good! For the must-trys, may I present the following:

Chocolate-Covered Bacon

It was not good:-(

Fried PB&J

It was not good:-(

And lastly, there is one tradition that can not be missed:

CREAM PUFFS!!

These were VERY, VERY, VERY GOOD!!

Friday Foto Fun with Swim Lessons

It's time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun:-)

Remember this girl who was so ready to swim at the beginning of the season? Well, this is how she did:

This is her swimming report card from Level 1 which she passed on the first try! Everyone she encounters says that she is the "most enthusiastic (fill in the blank) that they have ever seen":-) I love that about her.

And this is Level 2. She didn't pass but she only missed 2 things so next time should be a breeze. I think it is neat that each instructor decorated the sheets for the kids. I am just so pleased with the program they have at our aquatic center. They really make learning fun.

These are going straight to the memory book:-)

Soon There Will Be Jam

Friends

 I needed some time with friends.

I had a very troubling week with my mom being in the hospital however, last week ended very pleasantly. I saw one friend on Friday for a playdate with our girls. And another one came over for dinner with her husband on Saturday. It was awesome:-)

Now, I don't know if these visits were due to me being at the top of the "concern list" because of my mom. My friends are like that. If one of us is in trouble or turmoil, the others rally around. Or maybe they just both missed me at the same time.

Either way, I am glad they both called because it was exactly what I needed:-) There is nothing better than some girlfriend time when you are feeling spent.