Recipes That Made My Mouth Water:

• Creamy Chicken Spaghetti Casserole by Ree Drummond at The Pioneer Woman. Yes, we’re having this for dinner tonight. And yes, my mouth watered while sharing this recipe with you.
• Easy Homemade Pierogies by Sarah at Sarah’s Cucina Bella. I initially balked at that title: Easy homemade pierogies? NO SUCH THING. I love this idea though and may give them a try. As an aside, Sarah rocked my socks with recipes this week. Also check out her grilled cheese with bacon sandwich and tomato bisque for 12. Mmm.
• The McDonald’s Shamrock Shake Copycat Recipe by Kelsey at The Naptime Chef. I squealed when I saw this one. Burgh Baby probably won’t agree with my utter enthusiasm.

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:

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

I still don’t know how this happens.

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.

Recipes That Made My Mouth Water:

• Italian Sausage and Cabbage Stew by Elise at Simply Recipes. My family loves sausage. My family loves cabbage. Really seems like a win for our dinner table!

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

• I Got a Job by Hydrantgirl. Go give her some congratulations for landing a full time paramedic position. Also, give her high fives for saying “holy snotsticks.” HIGH FIVE!
• The Visit We Hope We Never Receive by Trina at Too Hot to Handle. A post about the LODD of Firefighter Glenn L. Allen and how news of such things sends a chill down the spine of fire wives all over the world.
• I Am Recruiting by Just Me at Just My Blog. In short, the youngest child of The Happy Medic is in the ICU. If you’d like to get send something to the family, see the post referenced for ideas and how to’s. See also This post at Pink Warm and Dry for a definition of family if you don’t quite understand why we’re rallying around this family.

Photo Blog Posts That Inspired Me:

• 46/365 by Cynthia at Freezing memories, one day at a time. Not only are the photos of her son so darn cute, but the story… well, it made me all weepy. Read it.
• List #15: 7 Things To Do When You Need to Add Good To Your Day by Karen Walrond at Chookooloonks. I think, with snow in the forecast again this week despite the fact that I have lily sprouts through the ground, I’m going to take Karen’s advice. Great post.

My Absolute Favorites of the Week:

• Bird Count and Self Promotion (Plus Pretty Pictures!) by Kim at Arizona Writer. As a photographer who devotes a large amount of time to stalking birds, I have always admired Kim’s work. This post? I love. Lots. The Yellow-Headed Blackbirds photo? I want. Badly.
• Photographic Darkness by Casey at Moosh in Indy. Just read it. There are also very few pictures of me during any time that I struggled with depression, postpartum, pregnancy or otherwise. Really, this post is a must read.
• Making It Work: Traveling While Lactating by Jory Des Jardins at From Here to Autonomy. Any mother who has traveled and pumped (or pumped ever) will appreciate the humorous honesty in this post. Keep it up, Jory.
• Ann Landers by Loralee Choate at Loarelee’s Looneytunes. I don’t know why we continue to submit ourself to the stupid that is Ann Landers’ column, but I love Loralee’s rant. In addition to that, the truth remains that I really wouldn’t be in the place where I am today if it wasn’t for my blog(s). I have been challenged, been helped and been encouraged by others willing to comment, share, push and love me through my darkest of times. Good rant. Lesson: Ignore Ann Landers.
• Behaving Badly by Christina at A Mommy Story. Her post is a beautiful finger-pointing at some things that have been driving me crazy as of late as well. I like this paragraph:

  Our society is teetering towards a loss of all civility. It’s like people are rebelling from the politically correct atmosphere of the last decade and swinging to the polar opposite. Maybe all of the power of anonymity on the internet is spilling over into our day-to-day behavior? (Note to offenders: when you act like an internet troll to the people in your community, we actually know who you are. And then don’t like you.)

A Few of My Favorite Photos This Week:

I took a lot of photos this week and it was a hard decision for me.

We took the boys bowling. Loved it!

Yes, those are lily sprouts. In February. Not a crazy great picture, but a crazy awesome thing.

I love the texture nature gave to this photo. I can almost feel it.

I am so excited for what this week holds. I’m dealing with some stuff as well, but I just have this level of Kool-Aid Man “OH YEAH!” for this week. I hope you can find some of that in your upcoming week as well.

Recipes That Made My Mouth Water:

• Spiced Chipotle Honey Chicken Breasts with Sweet Potatoes and Winter Squash by Joanne at Eats Well With Others. Oh my. It’s on our next menu plan. Oh my.
• Angry Birds Cupcakes by Kristan at Confessions of a Cookbook Queen. I’m never going to be able to create those, but they made me smile so hard.

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

• At the sharp end and its follow-up, At the sharp end II by Kal at Trauma Queen. First off, these are both intense posts that made my stomach lurch for a fellow blogger and friend. Secondly, these two posts are evidence of crazy amazing writing — not just within the fire/EMS blog niche but in general. This? Is good writing. Read it. It’s the best fire/EMS post/series this week.

Photo Blog Posts That Inspired Me

• A Taste of Spring by Sarah at One Starry Night. While Sarah isn’t solely a photo blogger, she is an amazing photographer. This post made me long for spring which, I’m hoping, is right around the corner.
• Overcoming Fears | Foundation Workshop 9 by Mary at Birchtree Photography. Not only are the photos that she shared moving and amazing, but the words she shared about fears and photography are inspiring.

Books I’ve Read/Book Posts I Liked:

• I finished reading The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels –A Love Story. I adored it for many reasons, but mainly because I loved the post-wedding stories the best as I related — so deeply — to the immediate pregnancy (though we had three months alone), postpartum depression, general woe but still full of love tone of it all. Read it!
• I reviewed As Simple as It Seems by Sarah Weeks at Chronicles. It was my 4th Adoption Reading Challenge pick (3rd fiction) and 4th Young Adult Reading Challenge pick. Note: I didn’t like it.
• I discovered this book blog written by an 11-year-old girl this week. If you’ve got some teens/tweens/YA readers in your house, you may want to read this blog!

My Ultimate Favorites of the Week:

• Dear Author by Sassymonkey at Sassymonkey Reads. If you missed the drama created by author Sylvia Massara, you are out of luck. The author bashed “unprofessional reviewers,” which created a crazy amount of comments from bloggers all over the web — book or otherwise. But then the author deleted all of those comments. You’d think author’s would know to “own their words.” All the same, I enjoyed Sassymonkey’s letter.
• Parenting. Try It Some Time by Lindsay at Suburban Turmoil. Considering I’m one of those pesky, interfering, opinionated parents, I wanted to give her a standing ovation at the end of her post.
• How to Make Flubber, Glurch and Other Fun Art Supplies at Home at Ohdeeoh. A bunch of links to the recipes for all those fun things (including chalk! and watercolor paint!) all in one place. Definitely bookmark this one.
• Alternately titled How Jenna doesn’t really want the Steelers to Win Super Bowl XLV by my mean friend Heather at Domestic Extraordinaire. (She’s not really mean. Promise.) It was funnier before the Steelers dropped the ball — literally and repeatedly. Then it was sad. It’s back to being funny now. But I promise you: We are not now nor will we ever be Browns fans. Ick!
• Love Thursday Bonus: Simple Photo Valentine’s Day Card for Kids by Karen at Chookooloonks. Still trying to figure out what to do for your kid’s Valentine’s Day cards? Know your way around a camera and a printer? Get to work!

A Few of My Favorite Photos This Week:

Not technically great photos, but, OH! Spring is coming! Magnolia buds!

In love with this one. The detail in his eye made me swoon. Flickr sharpened it a bit on upload, but it still resides in my Project 365 Favorites set.

Snapped this from the passenger window as we whizzed by on our Date Day.

Hopefully I can keep up with my feed reader this week. I feel awful knowing that I likely missed some great stuff from some great people. As such, if you wrote something amazing or read something great from another blogger, please feel free to leave me a link. I promise to make time and read it!

Recipes That Made My Mouth Water

• Meatball Subs with Caramelized Onions by Deb at Smitten Kitchen. Looks stunning.
• Tortilla de (sweet) Patatas by Joanne at Eats Well with Others. I’m not really sure I can make that, but it seems like something we’d love.
• Sesame Soba Noodles by Annie at Annie’s Eats. Uh, yes please. That looks so good.
• Four Cheese Macaroni and Cheese by Sarah at One Starry Night. I’m not 100% certain BigBrother will eat it, but LittleBrother will. And so will I. It’s on the list!
• Super Bowl Party Recipes by Amy at Living Locurto. If you’re looking for last minute things, this is a good, quick resource. You really might have quite a few of these things already in your house so you won’t have to go out!

Books I’ve Read/Book Posts I Liked

• Hanging on to Max by Margaret Bechard. I reviewed it at Chronicles, and I gave it 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. It was my 7th book for 2011, my 3rd adoption pick (2nd fiction) and my 3rd Young Adult pick.
• A Glee-ful Memoir. OMG! Jane Lynch is releasing a memoir! GLEE! It’s called Happy Accidents and comes out in September. JOY!

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

• Hydrantgirl has been nominated for a Bloggie. She’s nominated in the Top 5 Canadian Blogs category. Go give her a vote!
• Fire Truck Runs Over Protester in Egypt by Rhett Fleitz at The Fire Critic. I can’t imagine the unrest myself, though I’ve been following it as closely as I can. As Rhett says, this is an inexcusable action, but I also can’t imagine trying to do fire work in those conditions.
• T-Shirt Giveaway Time by Val at Fire Fighter Wife. Val is celebrating her birthday with a giveaway from FirefighterWives.net. Easy entries!

Photo Blog Posts That Inspired Me:

• Ice Storm by Heather at Kinder.Better.Braver. Heather posts more than just photos on her blog, but this post was so beautiful despite my hatred of ice.
• My post about flickr’s accidental account deletion at BlogHer. No photos, but it should inspire you to backup your photos. Immediately. (I’m using QOOP.) Additionally, flickr did eventually restore his account and gave him a 25 year pro account ($625).

My Ultimate Favorites of the Week

• A Frozen Moment by Burgh Baby. I was there, with her, in that moment — because her writing was amazing. The writing is phenomenal; it follows the directions of my old creative writing teacher, “Show, don’t tell.” It’s also just a beautiful note of childhood wonder and winter. (PS: She updated her layout. Looks lovely. Go see!)
• Taking Time for Yourself by Sara at Family Organic. I was totally nodding along as I read. It’s so important to take care of yourself — as a person — so you can best take care of the people and stuff in your life.
• On Being Round by Dawn at This Woman’s Work. I’d say something about this post, but she says it best herself:

  I am often surprised when people argue with me about this like its controversial for all kinds of people to love and accept themselves. There are people who are so worried about their daughter’s bodies that they forget their daughter’s hearts and souls. They don’t seem to understand that shame and the demonstration of shame is harmful. Sure, it might keep your daughter skinny but at what cost? These are people who say, “But what about the obesity epidemic???” If you are one of those people I encourage you to read Real Kids Come in All Sizes.

• Celebrate Winter by Renee at FIMBY (Fun In My Backyard). I love this post because her point, “enjoying winter is a choice,” is one I need to be reminding myself of as of late. I tweeted about Too Much Togetherness causing us to all to spontaneously combust earlier this week. I think I need to reevaluate a few things. (But Spring, please hurry.)
• BlogHer CEO Lisa Stone teamed up with Cloris Leachman to make fun of GoDaddy commercials. I loved it. The truth is that the GoDaddy commercials are beyond ridiculous (and GoDaddy stinks). I love the fun they poke at the commercials. It makes me happy to be part of BlogHer. I’d embed it but Cloris uses language that will make my mother-in-law smack me. So just go view it at BlogHer, okay? (Except for you, Kathy.)

Two of My Favorite Photos this Week:

Frosty morning sunrise. Made it to my Project 365 Favorites set.

Look at the sky! Blown out, but I love the feel.

Also, I’ve fixed a javascript issue on the blog that should now make it much easier to view — with pictures and all — via Microsoft Internet Explorer. Of course, you’d do yourself some good switching to Firefox — or Rockmelt or anything for that matter — but everything should load relatively timely now.

Lastly: Please link me to your favorites this week as well. I’m always trying to expand what I read an am exposed to each week.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! GO STEELERS!

Recipes That Made My Mouth Water:

• Spicy Bean Burritos at Annie’s Eats by Annie. I’m making these on an evening that FireDad is at work the coming week. My boys love beans, so they should be a hit. I’m toning down the spice a bit (for them, not me), but yes, my mouth watered.
• Lemon Basil Marinara Sauce at In Good Taste by Maris. I’ve been making my own spaghetti/etc sauce for about a month now, noticing that LittleBrother was having a sensitivity to something in jarred sauces. This is on my To Make List now.
• Weekend Menu Planning: Dip Into Something Hot for Super Bowl Sunday at BlogHer by Kalyn Denny. I haven’t yet made any decisions as to what I’m making for the Super Bowl party my friends are throwing. I bookmarked a few on this post.

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

• It’s going to be a glorious day. at Trauma Queen by Kal. Please go read this post. Seriously. And then make a promise to yourself and the rest of humanity and vow to NEVER DRINK AND DRIVE.
• Female Firefighter Call Out at Fire Fighter Wife by Val. She’s looking for female firefighters who blog. Go leave your link!
• The Best of Motivational …or Demotivational Firefighting Posters at The Fire Critic by Rhett Fleitz. Some of these are inappropriate (don’t say I didn’t warn you) and one isn’t work friendly (read: FireDad don’t click this at work) but I may have laughed. Even at the inappropriate ones. These will be most funny to those within the fire service family, but they’re pretty much universally funny. As a note, voting is live for the best Fire and EMS blogs. Even though I think the finalist lists are bunk (read: my favorite EMS blogger didn’t make it; sadface), you should vote. No registration required.

Photo Blog Posts that Inspired Me:

• An Idea at Blue Lily Blog by Wendy and Tyler. Those photos of Nie‘s family are just absolutely stunning. Technically and artistically both. As an aside, the post announces that they have finalized their US Tour. They will be in Pittsburgh on October 30th (which is a Sunday, so if your neighborhood messes with trick-or-treating, beware) and Columbus on November 2nd. If you want some crazy amazing family pics, sign up soon. Limited space.
• Something I’m Learning at Light Traces by Michelle Black. This was from last week (I was behind on reading) and there aren’t actually any photos in this post, but it is, most definitely, inspiring.

My Ultimate Favorites of the Week:

• Project: Create a Special Meal at Lisa Leonard Online by Lisa Leonard. I know we don’t “do” Valentine’s Day in our house, but I really think I’m going to make a special meal for my three guys. Maybe I’ll even make it look fancy-pants.
• Life Lessons from Sand Sculptors at In Pursuit of Happiness by Miss Britt. She posted this on the same day that I blogged about leaving the paper and opening my Etsy store. If people can make money building sand castles, anything is possible. Right?
• Daily Work-At-Home Rhythms: Things I Have Learned by Ali Edwards. Again, it’s quite interesting that in a week I needed some encouragement, it was right there waiting. An interesting post about working at home and raising children and time management for those interested.
• What They’re Really Thinking: AFC Championship Edition at That’s Church by Virginia Montanez. Complete with NKOTB references, booger talk and Angry Hulk, among other amusing tidbits. Basically, if you’re a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and you need to laugh, hop on over there. If you’re not, get of my lawn blog. (Just kidding. Kind of. HA!)
• “We Don’t Keep Secrets in Our Family“ at BlogHer by Nancy Campbell. I think this is an important read for parents about child abuse and the importance of words. As a note, it was originally posted on her blog earlier this month.

A note: This is not about favorites. If you aren’t on my weekly list, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t like what you wrote. I will try to keep diversity in this list as well. Sometimes certain things just move me more than others. Also, look for categories to change at will. Because I can.

And now for:

A Few of my Favorite Photos this Week:

I’ve been trying to capture an icicle in this manner for awhile. Finally! This made it into my 365 Favorites set.

This one also made it in my 365 Favorites set. Look for my review of Laurie Berkner’s show soon!

Flowers at Alexis’ birthday party at Burgh Baby‘s house. I went with black and white again because I was feeling it this week. Not in the favorites set, but I do like it.

Here’s hoping that this coming week sees an end to the Viral Ick that has been creeping our house, some more great reads and some great photos as well. As I have a new lens coming in, I’d bet on it!

Lastly: Please share a link to either a favorite post that you wrote or read this week and/or a link to the favorite photo you took this week. I want to read and see things outside of what I am currently experiencing via feed reader. Enlighten me and share with others!

I must say, I like it. Not just the theme (Photopress), though the clean theme with no distraction is rather nice. But I love the whole idea of doing things that make it easier to stick with my goals for 2009. Each post on the blog will feature the picture of the day and a short (or, sometimes, lengthy as, you know, I’m wordy) explanation of said photo. Each photo on the blog will contain my new (brush) watermark. (Learn to make your own brush in Photoshop with this tutorial.) I might, occasionally, include a few funny outtakes from photoshoots gone awry but, for the most part, it will be solely dedicated to my Project365 photographs.

Speaking of photography, I’m longing for spring. As a winter lover, this year’s winter is killing me. The boys want to play outside. And my camera wants to be outside as well. I know it will come and then I will complain when summer’s heat rolls around but, still, it’s hard to stay creative indoors for months on end. I digress.

All the same, I promise that each day will have a photo. I will be realistic and admit that I will occasionally have to backdate a photo or two as I may not get one edited and uploaded before bedtime but, in the end, each day will have an honest-to-goodness photo taken on that day of the 2009. I’m an honest (photo)blogger. Promise!

And so, after you check out my new photography blog, please let me know if you have a photoblog as well. I will include a link on my photoblog’s blogroll.

(Don’t forget, my Signing Time DVD giveaway ends today at noon. Go!)

And so, I joined the Our BlubHer Overhaul blog. (See my introduction here.)

In short, I have a new goal. If I can lose my ten pounds by the BlogHer conference next year, I will attend. I know. I’ve previously said that I won’t attend because of scheduling conflicts during that week. But I can make something work. Granted, for me to attend, I’m going to have to lose this weight no later than February 2009 so I can save money appropriately for travel and hotel and gifts to take home to boys. And that Husband. And, to be honest, if I can lose the extra five vanity pounds, well, I don’t know what I’ll do! Other than be super excited.

But, I need some help. I’m stuck. I’m honestly of the opinion that the stuck-ness comes with nursing and we’re not ready to wean. (He’s not even a year yet! Hush!) I won’t do anything unhealthy that could adversely affect my son, our nursing relationship or even my own health. And so, I just keep trucking along. I’ll get there. Right? Someday?

This week is far less busy than last week. Yet I’m keeping the same goal of three workouts at the gym and three home/outdoor workouts alone or with the boys. I think I need to suck it up and lengthen my amount of time on the elliptical, don’t you think? My legs, arms and general body cry at the thought but, well, it is time.

In the meantime, head over to Our BlubHer Overhaul and read about others’ weight loss goals and how they’re reaching them together. And leave me a comment, here or there, with some kind of inspiration. Because, man, if I don’t see some weight loss soon… sigh.