This and That--From my Front Porch

Not to brag (too much), but weather.com just informed me it's 79 degrees and sunny (feels like 79 degrees) here on my front porch. Well, they don't have a weather station here on my front porch, and I suppose it's cooler because of the shade and the delightful breeze, but it's a gorgeous day nonetheless.

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I've been out here for 2 hours with my little laptop friend, working on some Creative Summer Days giveaway posts. It's another of my little brainchildren that Janice and Susan are so gracious to let me produce at 5 Minutes for Mom. Have you checked out these giveaways? Lots of fun, and some really great products and ideas I've enjoyed, which will hopefully give you some inspiration to chase away the "Mom, I'm bored" syndrome.

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I am holding tightly on to their coattails at 5 Minutes for Mom, hoping that their success will continue to bring new opportunities to me as well. I have been spending a good bit of time the last couple weeks on two special new projects. It's a secret for now, but hopefully there will be big news announced soon. I am so pleased at the opportunities that I have been offered simply because a little over a year ago Janice was looking for someone to do reviews and the fact that I reviewed books at Snapshot popped into her head, so I started the column over there, and then, and then, and then. . . .

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On a more serious note, I was just multi-tasking (as I always do when I'm on the computer), and saw a yahoo headline that Tim Russert just died. It literally made my heart stop when I saw that headline. It can happen at anyone to any time, and as I (and my family members) get older, I think it's hard not to be stricken with that grave thought.

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I can't end on that note, so here are some recipes that I've come across this week in the blogosphere that I hope to try out soon:

Darcie posted her recipe for Chicken Stacky Uppy and other things her family will eat. The funny name reminded me of our own family's favorite, Goo (self-titled), which I thought I had posted the recipe for, but I couldn't find it. I did find the recipes I had posted for two of our easy always-on-hand staples, Baked Ziti and Skillet Supper (which I made last night).

L.L. Barkat not only posted a recipe on her Green Inventions Central blog that I'd like to try, but as she always does, she gave me a kernel of truth to chew on while I was thinking about how my family would react to a soup with chickpeas and floating eggs. Sometimes because I'm the chef, I get to decide. We'll see if I give this one a go, but it sure does sound good to me.

Ann Kroeker is also sharing more than just a recipe for a Spaghetti Pancake. She's sharing some great wordcrafting.