Spokesladies Represent

A few months ago, my huz and some of his friends started a bike gang. Don't worry, they're really just a mild-mannered group of well-dressed fellows with great intentions of riding their bicycles to work and seeking awesome, cheap restaurants while on their lunch break. They refer to themselves as the Sac Spokesmen.

I'm not sure how it started, but at some point they decided it would be fun to do a "monthly" cover song challenge where they select one song and all create their own versions of it. Each man's cover song is kept on the down low until a specified date that usually involves a listening party. Being that us wives of the Spokesmen are subjected to listening to said song in its original and covered versions at least a thousand times before the song gets submitted, we ladies decided that we should have a say in the song selection process. Apparently, many of the members of the Spokesmen hemmed and hawed about the wives choosing songs and perhaps broke into cold sweats imagining what horrible song we could dream up for them to cover. I don't know why they would think we'd pick something awful. We all have fabulous ears for music and only listen to the finest. That being said, its ladies choice for Cover Song Challenge # _ (Six I think).

I've asked that the Spokeswives, or Spokesladies, submit their song rankings here in the comment section of my blog as anonymous comments. Each lady will post the twelve songs that we chose among ourselves (three songs each) and rank them from 1-12 with the first choice having the heaviest weight of 12 and the last choice having a weight of one. The song that gets the most points will be selected as the winner and our guys will have whatever amount of time they determine to finish it off and submit it. Then we all get to listen and party together! Did I mention the fact that we all have adorable kids around the same age that all play together so well, too? It really is great fun to attend and host these listening parties!

Update: There was some disagreement on the method of rating the songs for this challenge. I think the popular consensus is to rate the songs as a 1-5, instead of weighting them 1-12. The song with the highest rating is the winner.

.....and the winner is...... The Postal Service- Brooklyn Blues!

Tomato

This was a gift for my little neighbor who turned two last weekend. She has a cat named Tomato and he was the inspiration for this project.

Green Smoothie Challenge

About two months ago, my friend Niki challenged me to the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred exercise program. Since I love challenges and really needed a push to start working out regularly after healing up from a running injury, I accepted the challenge. I weighed myself and took my measurements and endured pain that I haven't experienced since birthing a child. I finished the challenge, proud that I hadn't missed a day at all. I lost a small amount in inches all over, but the scale never changed. That was a bit depressing, but I was also encouraged to stick with it. That was almost 60 Days ago and I'm still at it, 6 days a week. Pretty good, huh?

I decided that it was my turn to set forth a new challenge on Niki, so I asked her if she would like to participate in the 14 Day Green Smoothie Challenge. Maybe it was payback, but I thought it couldn't do us the same type of bodily harm that the first few days of the shred imposed on us. I finished this challenge and didn't miss a day, either. What a gal! I also went ahead and made it a habit, too.

This morning, I came up with a wild concoction that actually turned out pretty good. Yeah, it probably sounds truly disgusting to those of you who haven't tried a green smoothie, so let me assure you that you cannot taste the greens. I promise.


Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Banana Green Smoothie

2 Cups Filtered Water
3 Huge Handfuls Baby Spinach
One ripe Kiwi Fruit
A small handful Blueberries
1 Tbsp. Raw Cocoa Powder
1 spoonful Natural Peanut Butter
2 Bananas
Squeeze of Agave Nectar
Ice

Put it all in your blender and process until smooth.

Makes a little more than 32 oz. and will fill you up until lunchtime.

Here's what's cookin'

Yesterday, while I was trying to figure out what the boy wanted for lunch, I decided to see what he might want instead of me deciding for him. He informed me that he did not want lunch, nor did he want a snack, but wanted dinner instead. Okay. What do you want for dinner? He smiled and said, "Torvacabacbac." I asked him how to make it and he kindly shared the recipe with me, which I, in turn, will do for you.

Recipe:

Torvacabacbac

1 Tbsp. Sugar
A lot of chocolate
4 Bears
3 Rocks
3 Hairs

Mix it and put it in a pretty hot oven.

Serves One Boy

So, there you have it. If you make it, please comment on how it turned out.

Salsa Verde o Salsa Purpura?

What do you call salsa verde made with purple tomatillos? Will the salsa actually turn out purple?

Update: The salsa turned out morada, or purpura, and darkened with age. It also had a mellower, sweeter undertone than the usual salsa made with green tomatillos. Rad! So, those of you who guessed purple, you were right!

Here is what it looked like while it was still a little warm.




And here it is a day later and a little more purple.

Not owning up to my part of the deal.

I haven't been good about updating this blog. Both nortagemdar and eastwest have been living up to their part of the deal, now its time for me to try to get serious.

Here's what I've been up to since I last posted.




I made a baby congratulations gift for my new little niece or nephew to be. Its a burp cloth and cloth shoe set, with a wind up toy for the wee one. This was the first project I completed on my new Bernina 731 and that machine is amazing! The shoes and burp cloths were made from a Beatrix Potter-esque cotton fabric and coordinating flannel. I chose mint green and brown for a neutral palette.











The burp cloths were designed with a little curve to fit nicely around the neck and serged all around. I'm hoping my sister will give me feedback on these and if they are great, I'll put them in the shop.

Oh, I also made that same sister a corn snuggl-ee bag to help her with pregnancy aches and pains.




A new super-blender happened to make its way into my life, too. Its a Blendtec Total Blender, a more affordable competitor to the famous Vita-mix Blender.












I've been making bread from home milled whole wheat, tortillas and green smoothies every day.

I've also been lucky enough to get to watch my boy's art skills blossom.







The garden has also been keeping me busy.

(lettuce flowers in bloom)

I wasn't too busy to squeeze in a nap with my buddy, though.