"As Seen on GGC..."

I'm standing in the spotlight, basking in my 15 minutes of fame! Well, sort of. One of my little pillowcase dresses is getting the attention, not me directly. But I'm okay with that!

A little while back, I contacted my most favourite of all Mom-Bloggers, Rebecca Woolf of "Girl's Gone Child" ( http://www.girlsgonechild.net/ ), and "Straight From the Bottle" (http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/straightfromthebottle/default.aspx seriously, check her out!). If you're a fan of "Momversation", you'll no doubt recognize her as one of the regular panelists. She's a mom of two, author, married to a producer in L.A...She's a real, tell-it-like-it-is, no sugar coating type of mom - and I crave what she has to say! She always hits home, no matter her topic - she has a way of reaching her audience by reminding us that we're all human and going through the same experiences. I can't get enough!

So, anyway - a while back, I emailed her to let her know about my new Babylove shop (http://www.babylovebyjackie.etsy.com/ - I swear I'll learn to do a proper link one of these days...), and offered to send her one of my dresses. Her little girl, Fable, is 10 months of adorable - and this kid has a droolworthy wardrobe. Readers are always commenting on what she's wearing, and asking where they can find it... Rebecca kindly accepted my offer, and I shipped one of my dresses off to "LA-LA Land"! She offered to take a picture of Miss Fable wearing my dress, and link to my shop!

Well ladies, today is the day! If you visit "Girls Gone Child" today, you'll see Fable proudly modeling her "Babylove" dress! Stunning, if I do say so myself ;) Traffic to my shop has been great today - lots of people have added me to their list of "favourites", and one sale so far, but the day is young...I'm hopeful for more!

Thanks again Rebecca for this opportunity! :)

Twilight...Minus the Fangs

Austin and Grandpa

***First of all - my apologies...one of the downfalls to living in the country, means having a sllloowww dial-up internet connection. Blogger and I are having "issues" at the moment, so this post/pictures are pretty disorganized...stay tuned for a 2nd installment of more pictures!***

We were presented with a plaque

Four generations being introduced, all have lived and worked on the farm.

Dreamer and Classy watched from a distance.
Angela and Amber, overseeing the festivities.

Pull up a bale and grab a plate!

Cars and trucks lined the laneway, and filled the barnyard.

Fun was had by all generations.

Come on in! glad you got here early, it'll be hard to find a parking spot soon! Don't worry, the only vampires likely to make an appearance are the mosqitoes; hope you brought your bug spray, they're nasty this year!

A while back, I mentioned that the farm would be hosting a big event...after months of hard work and preparation, the big evening finally arrived! On July 9th, we hosted the annual "Twilight Meeting" for our county's Holstein organization. The get-together is appropriately named, as it begins when the sun starts to fade...not because it has anything to do with the popular book/movie series. As the colours of the sunset brightened, the farm became host to approximately 200 guests - fellow dairy farmers and their families from throughout the county, as well as some visitors from surrounding areas. All gathered for an evening of food, friends and fun - a great opportunity for us to showcase our cattle and facilities! We are proud of the hard work that is put into the farm and our herd, and it was nice to be able to share with everyone. The evenings activities consisted of a generous BBQ dinner, musical entertainment, farm tours (including a tractor/wagon ride!), "Farmer's Olympics" for the 4-H kids, and we finished off with both a silent and live auction; where else could you expect to buy "the champagne of semen"?! Yes, that's right - I said semen. I was sure to wander around and take some pictures - from what I could tell, fun was had by all and the evening was a great success!

Coming for Dinner?

When I first started this blog, I promised to share a few of my recipes - I figured it was time I passed on a few of my favourites! I originally planned to post a new recipe every week, but we all know how I lose my train of thought and forget...so, I'll aim for a weekly recipe ("Foodie Fridays", maybe?), but it will probably end up being more of an occasional entry - no promises attached this time!

Since moving out into the big wide world (ie. out of my parents' house), I've learned that I love to cook - which works out great, because I just so happen to love eating. I was a bit intimidated at first, because after living with my parents for the first 22 years of my life, I had never HAD to cook - both of my parents are great in the kitchen, meaning I never had to prepare anything that didn't come from a box, package, or can. Dinner was cooked for me, and I ate it. Spoiled? Absolutely. I had also never done a load of laundry, and I STILL have yet to ever mow the lawn...but that's another story for another day. So - all of a sudden, I not only had to cook to feed myself, but also my hubby - and soon a child; which meant whatever I cooked had to actually be "edible". Survival depended upon it. Fortunately for all of us - I have always loved to bake. Cookies, cakes, pies, you name it - I was willing to try it, as long as I had a recipe in front of me. Hey - a recipe! Maybe if I had a recipe to follow, I could cook meals as well....cookbooks soon became my best friend. I have developed a pretty impressive collection, and am always looking for new additions! My favourites are those with lots of pictures (I have to *see* what I plan to make), and those that are compilations of recipes passed down through generations - they type you buy for fundraisers and such. I'm also a HUGE fan of Rachael Ray - her recipes are not so figure friendly, but are always delicious. I sometimes have to refrain from licking my tv screen...though I'm sure no one would notice for all the finger prints and lick-marks left by Abigayle. Cookbooks, however have been like "training wheels" in my kitchen - eventually I gathered enough confidence that I could let go and try things out on my own. There were a few "wobbles", but I quickly learned how to balance the different spices and flavours. I certainly would never claim to be a master chef, but I think I've come up with some pretty good stuff!

This recipe is an adaptation of one I found in a magazine - it's one of Ted's favourites, when I ask for his input on our weekly menu, it's always on the top of his list! One of my favourite things about it, is how flexible it is; it never tastes exactly the same because I play with different seasonings every time. It's fast, simple, and filling. Let me know if you give it a try, hope your family enjoys it as much as mine does!

Jackie's Chicken Pot Pie

You will need:

- one or two frozen pie shells, thawed (depends if you want a double crust, or just a top crust)

you could also use homemade pastry, if you prefer.

- a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. You could use chopped fresh seasonal veggies if you'd like, but the frozen makes for less prep and is much faster. The amount you use depends on the size of the casserole/pie dish you need to fill, but I usually use 1-2 cups for a 9" or 10" pie.

- 8oz container/brick of cream cheese

- chicken stock

- seasonings of your choice; I like to use poultry/provencal type spices, and usually add in onion powder, garlic powder (or minced fresh garlic), salt + pepper, sometimes some "Old Bay" seasoning. This is really all based on your preference! You could use basil, oregano, fresh parsley...play with it a bit!

- 2 or 3 chicken breasts, diced

Put it Together...

- Preheat your oven to 350F

- Dice your chicken and brown it in a large skillet. If you'd like to add some extra flavour, try cooking the chicken in a vinaigrette-type salad dressing (like Italian) instead of oil.

- Once the chicken has pretty well cooked through, add the cream cheese to the pan and melt it in with the chicken. Add a bit of stock as well, to keep the cheese from drying out and sticking to the pan. The stock and cream cheese will be your sauce, so add enough stock to form the consistancy you'd like. If you accidentally add too much liquid, you can always thicken it up with a sprinkle of flour.

- Add in your seasonings

- Add your veggies and simmer until everything has heated through

- If using a double-crust, pour everything into one pie shell. Remove the pastry from the second foil tin, turn it upside down and set it on top of the filled shell. Press the edges together (I like to rub a bit of oil or butter around the inside edge to help the shells mush together). Cut a slit to let the pie vent - I like to use a cookie cutter and make it look pretty :) If you'd prefer, you can pour the filling into a casserole or pie plate of your choice (instead of a bottom pastry), and cover it with your pastry/a thawed pie shell.

- bake in a 350F oven for about 30mins, or until the pastry turns a nice golden brown.

It doesn't always look pretty when you serve it, it can be a bit sloppy - but it sure tastes good!

Cowgirl Couture

These boots were made for...well, walking in poop of course. Not quite what Nancy Sinatra had in mind. But what else would you expect me to dress in? I got all gussied up, but had to make a quick stop in the horse paddock...I didn't feel that my stilettos were appropriate in case a quick getaway was in order (you never know if the "girls" are feeling frisky and want to include me in an impromptu game of Tag). Besides, if you've ever walked across a hayfield in pencil-heels, you'll know how they like to sink into the soft ground - not so good for the shoes. Of course my favourite pretty pink shoes were in the car for a quick wardrobe "upgrade"...which I remembered as I was standing in the drive-thru bank machine, with a line of cars behind me. I could see a smirk on the face of the passengers and I realized that my feet were somehow still...comfortable. Definitley not in heels. Oh well, at least I was still colour coordinated. Especially when I did strap on my little pretties and saw that I has still managed to get a nice greenish smear of horsie poop across the toe. *sigh*

Twenty-One

I know my "Weekly Weigh-In" pulled a disappearing act a while ago - I honestly couldn't remember to keep posting. Sad, I know; you see, my thoughts are like butterflies...some flit around for a little while, but before too long they flutter into the distance, never to be seen again! I blame the children. "Mommy Brain" is real, and it never goes away.

So - I figured it was time for an update on my weight-loss situation! I've still been plugging away with WeightWatchers, and seeing better success than I had ever expected. As of Monday night, I have lost a grand total of...drumroll please...21.2 lbs! WOW! When I first started, I had planned to lose 10-15lbs, and doubted myself from the get-go. I am so proud of myself for making it this far! That puts me at a current weight of 115.8lbs - a number I haven't seen since I was in highschool. It feels AMAZING! Bit by bit, my pile of "outgrown" clothes that were destined for the Goodwill is getting smaller. I'm able to fit into some of my old favourites that I've held on to "just in case" - never expecting that I would actually wear them again.

I was trying to think of a way to show/visualize how much weight I had lost, when I got this brainwave...please feel free to laugh, Ted sure did! On my way home from my WW meeting, I decided I would build myself a little display...of butter. Yes, that's right folks - I stood in the middle of Foodland and built myself a castle out of 21 pounds of butter! I did my best to be quick and sneaky...I can see the headlines now, "woman escorted from Foodland, and banned from dairy department...". It doesn't take much to make the front page of our local paper.

A funny story that also happened that evening...

When you lose weight and start to fit into smaller clothes, it's inevitable that some of your larger clothes will no longer fit. I had put on one of my favourite little sundresses (we finally had a warm day!), but when I got dressed I noticed that my "undergarments" were a little on the loose side. I was in a hurry, so I figured they'd be good enough and on my way I went. On my way home, I was fed up with the bug guts smeared allover my windshield, and stopped in at the gas station to squeegie it off. I was scrubbing with enthousiasm...scrubbing my butt off, you might say. Well, maybe not my "butt", but definitley my undies. Apparently all that scrubbing was more than my undies could handle, because they slipped right down to my knees! I inadvertantly dropped trou in the gas station parking lot. I'm really striving to make the front page of this newspaper...my parents will be so proud. Thankfully there was no one there to notice, so I gathered my panties and my dignity, and continued on my merry way.

Where I'm From

I was listening to the radio the other day while I was running some errands, and a song came on that really caught my ear; it's a newer song by Jason Michael Carrol - a country song, of course. I listen to just about everything, but country seems to be what's on my radio most often. I didn't really recognize it (otherwise, I'd be belting out loud!), so I listened to the lyrics, and they brought a feel-good smile to my face. The song is called, "Where I'm From", and it described just that - I swear he could be talking about where I live. It all sounds so simple, and I'm sure that everyone can relate to it in some way, but it felt like he was singing about *home*. Here are some of the lyrics (just the chorus) - if you want to know more, you'll have to listen to it for yourself!

I'm from the front pew of a wooden white church
The courthouse clock it still dont work
Where a man's word means everything
Where moms and dads were high school flings
Gave their children grandmothers maiden name
Yes it may not sound like much
But its where I'm from

Where the quarterback dates the homecoming queen
The truck's a ford and the tractor's green
And Amazing Grace is what we sing
Well there's a county fair every fall
And your friends are there no matter when you call
Yeah It may not sound like much but it's
Where I'm from

Sew Much to Do!

Busy, Busy, Busy! I've finally gotten all of my fabric that I had ordered - time to get to work! Just thought I'd give you a sneak peak of what I've been up to...

This is an example of the little "pillowcase" dresses that I'm making. I've found some adorable designer fabrics, and they're turning out to be SO precious! I've called this first one "Oh Deer"; it's made using Michael Miller's new "Pet Deer" fabric.

This one is called "Orange You Glad" - again Michael Miller, this is the "Medallion Bloom" print, from the Farmer's Market collection.

Both of these dresses are currently listed on my Etsy site (http://www.babylovebyjackie.etsy.com/) - they are being sold for $25/ea +SH, and can be made from size 0-8.

Think the fabric is way too cute, and want in on the action? Treat yourself to something adorable - and environmentally friendly - with a "Coffee Cozy"! Made in the same fabric as the pillowcase dresses (two layers of cotton, with an insulating layer in between) and embellished with a vintage/repurposed button with an elastic loop closure - these little cozies will replace the need for double-cupped coffee, and cardboard sleeves. Great for cold drinks, too! (I hate getting my hands wet from the condensation on cold cups). These little lovelies sell for $5/ea +SH , and ship for free if combined with another item from my shop! I think if you paired one with a coffee shop gift card, they'd make a perfect little "thank-you" gift for teachers, busdrivers, daycare providers...

Now, I've got loads more sewing to do...back to work!