I have missed two weeks of Weekly Favorites posts. March has been one of those months in which the weeks have sped by, leaving me to suddenly find myself on Sunday evening ready to start over again. To be fair, two weeks ago it was the Internet’s fault I couldn’t post. (We now have a new ISP; more on that soon.) Last week, I simply ran out of time. A few of the posts in this week’s favorites might be a bit older than this week.

Recipes That Made My Mouth Water:

  • Spanish Rice with Carne Asada by Katie at Fire Wife Katie. I think my family would enjoy this particular recipe and it seems like a great weeknight meal.
  • Chicken Cordon Bleu at Nokademic. Again, I think my family would like this and it seems like another good “get dinner on the table now” weeknight meal.
  • Chicken Paprikash by Elise at Simply Recipes. I kinda have a love of paprika, so this looks like something I’d love to try. I actually think my family makes something similar…
  • Meyer Lemon Ricotta Pancakes by Joanne at Eats Well With Others. We’re making these this week. YUM!

Fire/EMS Blog Posts That I Particularly Enjoyed or Think You Should Read:

  • Getting the Wives Together by Val at Fire Fighter Wife. I’m jealous, plain and simple, that fire wives get together at all. Ours don’t. And while I could, technically, spear-head that endeavor, I don’t really have time at this point in my life. So I like posts about other fire spouses getting together.
  • Craig Birkholz: Army Sgt., Police Officer, Husband, Hero by Trina at Too Hot to Handle. Our thoughts are with the Birkholz family during their time of grief and mourning.

Photo Blog Posts that Inspired Me:

  • Food Play by Rachel at A Southern Fairytale. I couldn’t decide whether to put this in the food or the photo category, so I flipped a coin and she landed her. It made me smile.
  • What Windows Are For at Mortal Muses. Just beautiful.
  • Among the Hummingbirds by Barbara at Among the Saguaros. I adore hummingbird photos (well, bird photos in general), so I just sat and smiled at these. I can’t wait until ours are back now that I have my 300mm lens!

Adoption Related Posts:

[New category.]

  • The Boxcar Children Are Back at The Book Case. I chose to place this here than in a book post because of what the prequel to the Boxcar Children series will deal with:

    Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are kind to one another and embody the true sense of family. They are resourceful and positive. I find them both true children and true heroes at the same time. It occurs to me that perhaps their parents were the same. I’m looking forward to exploring that idea and more.

    Yes, the prequel tells us how the children ended up as orphans. I’ll be reading it.

  • Book Review: Adopted: The Ultimate Teen Guide by Mandy at Four Against Two. She has important things to say about some of the faults of this book. (Note: It’s for the Adoption Reading Challenge!)
  • It Takes a Triad & Thank You Transracialeyes.com by Diane at An-Ya. I don’t just share this post with you because she quoted me (though that’s cool!), but because it’s an important post for the triad.

    They say it takes a village to raise a child…and for an adoptive parent…

    It takes a triad.

    I’d just add that it really takes a triad for all members of said triad to find their place and their peace. The added link to her daughter’s post at transracialeyes.com is just a continuation of why it does take a triad. Please read both.

My Absolute Favorites of the Week:

  • The Writing on the Back Door by Liz at This Full House. I don’t have teens or tweens yet, but this post hit me in some way.
  • In the Family by Krys at Either Eat This Soup or Jump Out of This Window. Krys delves into what testing positive for BRCA does to her thoughts as she discusses the movie In the Family. I think this is an intensely important post on a topic that I don’t think we pay enough attention to.
  • Super Hero Cuff Craft by Allison at No Time for Flash Cards. We know I’m not big on crafts, but we go through enough toilet paper in this house that we might as well make use of the rolls, no? Plus, with spring weather being weird, wonky and often rainy, a fun craft for my super heroes seems to be in order.
  • The lighting of a fire* by Ivory at The Trivial Pursuit of Happiness. I’m kind of way jealous that she’s going the homeschooling route and we’re not, but this post is a beautiful tribute to the life I wish we could live. Kudos, friend.

Other than these two photos and a handful of Instagram snaps, I didn’t really take photos this week. I have yet to work on my Picture Inspiration assignment for the week. Here’s hoping I have a little more time to myself this week!

 

The sun is shining and it will hit 55 degrees today. I feel like I should be wearing flip flops. Not really. But really. Instead, I might just wear my rainboots and hit the gym after soccer. Not because I am hardcore. I just really want to eat the first recipe below for dinner. I’m pretty sure it requires a pre-and-post workout.

Recipes That Made My Mouth Water:

Fire/EMS Blog Posts That I Particularly Enjoyed or Think You Should Read:

  • What Gives by Sarah at Scriberson 365. Just in case you wondered what it looks like when a fire spouse endures a 48 alone. My house definitely looked like this yesterday evening before I whipped it into shape before bed. Glad someone else in the fire family could be honest about it!
  • Black Helmet Giveaway by Hydrantgirl. Black Helmet Apparel is the only company FireDad really likes for fire service t-shirts. Because they’re not corny. I swear I entered, even though it seems as though comments haven’t been approved yet. You should go enter. For me? Sure! Thanks!
  • Several Videos of FDNY in Action This Past Week by Rhett at The Fire Critic. A post about the Newsworking channel on YouTube which features coverage of FDNY in action. I subscribed to the channel. You should too!

Photo Blog Posts that Inspired Me:

  • Camp Shuttersisters at Shutter Sisters. Man. The amazing women behind Shutter Sisters, one of my favorite sites, are sponsoring a photography camp/getaway/awesome event. It’s being held in October in California. Registration opens soon, but I’m pretty sure I can’t swing two trips to California in one year. I’m sad, but I had to share it with my readers. Someone needs to go for me!
  • Tamron Contest at MCP Actions. A Tamron lens giveaway. ‘Nuff said.
  • Wild Free by Michelle Black at Light Traces. Another inspirational post with a beautiful photo. I didn’t include it just because she used a picture she took in our favorite vacation spot — Emerald Isle, NC — but that didn’t hurt.

My Absolute Favorites This Week:

  • On the Women Who Don’t Survive Postpartum Depression by Katherine Stone at Postpartum Progress. Simply a must-read about PPD. I adore Katherine for all the work she does regarding the topic and fight, and this is one that needed to be written — and read.
  • Letters to Miss Britt: How Do You Find the Time to Write on Multiple Blogs by Britt Reints at Mom Blog Magazine. I love how Britt puts multi-blogging in context. Sure, you may have just gotten some Amazing Gig, but if you ignore your own blog — your original platform — you’re missing out. Good perspective for myself and my other blogger/writer friends.
  • Finding a Smile Underneath by Morningside Mom. I love her perspective in this post. There are lots of little things that are or go wrong during a day or week or any given period of time. But I like her point that things are basically good as well. Plus, Ani!
  • Words Are Power by Texasebeth at My life, such as it is. Mmm. I’m on the flip side of this, but I have been learning — so much. Words have power, and even kids know it.
  • Blast from the Past by Jamie at Grumbles and Grunts. I just found her blog and subscribed immediately. I swear it wasn’t just because on her “about” page she has a photo of herself with her nose pierced (like me). It was because of this post, about a Shel Silverstein book, her photography, she’s going to BlogHer ’11 and generally seems kinda awesome. Start here and explore her archives.

A Few of My Favorite Photos This Week:

Bed Head

LittleBrother needs a haircut. He wakes up with Green Day hair.

Natural Lace

I still don’t know how this happens.

Monster Cupcakes

My friend’s son turned four. The Monster Cupcakes were a hit with my boys.

I also enjoyed both of the self-portraits (1, 2) that I took for Picture Inspiration this week. They’re both at my photoblog.

Hopefully this week is a good one. Last week was busy — and snowy — and I’m looking forward to warmer temperatures even if it does mean rain, rain and more rain. I’m telling you, spring isn’t far off. I mean, really, it’s about 22 days away. But sooner would be better. Right? Quite honestly, I’m ready to say goodbye to February. Funny how the shortest month of the year is quite honestly the worst.

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