Just a Reminder for Patience at Halloween

  

Costumes of Halloween's Past

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Yes it's the end of an era, I am no longer allowed to pick Halloween costumes for my boys. Yes that's right I have to actually let THEM pick. I got away with it longer with Garrett than Matthew but I am sad I no longer get to torture them with my pics. So today I am going to share costumes of Halloween's past!

Easiest Way to Shred Chicken

I very often use shredded chicken in my recipes. I used to use 2 forks a.k.a. the old fashioned way. Then along came my friend Pinterest. I cannot find the pin I saw it on or I would give credit, I even Googled to try and find it but could not. So you want to know my new found secret? The way to shred 4 chicken breasts in 1 minute flat? It's this!

 

 (like my decals? See how I pimped my mixer here.)

Country Living Fair @ Stone Mountain, Ga.

This weekend has been NUTS! Friday I was in bed all day with a stomach virus. Luckily Saturday I was fine and was able to attend the Country Living Festival and meet some great Bloggers, mostly from GA. Beth at Unskinny Boppy took this picture and I borrowed it, thanks Beth!

There is some fabulous talent here. I usually am not quiet but I must say I was a little overwhelmed to say the least by these talented ladies. Some of the fabulous blogs represented in this pic are DIY on the Cheap, Duel Family, Plumdoodles, The Fugal Homemaker, Southern Hospitality, Coastal Colors and  At the Picket Fence.

I Freakin did it Friday # 12

Welcome to I Freakin' did it Friday, unfortunately I got the party up late last week so we didn't get as many linkups. It's been a great week but crazy at Wilson House, October is always my nuttiest month.  Today I spent my morning at Matthew's preschool making fall t-shirts, I will share next week how we did them, they turned out so cute!
I also attended my first blog conference this week, all from the comfort of my own home! It was the first Online BlogCon

I learned so much and it was worth way more than the $15 I payed to attend! Put it on your calendar for next year. The best part has been the participant Facebook page where we have all been chatting and sharing info. Ang who was my Blog Angel was the one who told me about it! Thanks Ang!

Freezer Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches

Do your kids hate crust? When I had my first child, Garrett, I swore I would not be one of those mom's that cut the crust off a PBJ. Then he started preschool and apparently some of his friends had one of THOSE mom's. Now I am one of THOSE mom's. Yes I bowed to the God of cutting off the crust and deserve a 1000 lashes but if I don't cut off the crust he leaves a good inch of sandwich all the way around and does not eat enough of it. When I used to coupon (I say that like I did it for a while it lasted about 3 months until I decided the time spent on it was not worth the time I was missing with my family) I would get deals on the name brand frozen PBJ's that are in the shape of a circle. I had a round cutter just like that from pampered chef but was not a big fan of it. So I am going to show you how I make these for my kids lunches.

Carve a Yoda Pumpkin

This past week Garrett's School had there annual Fall Festival. Our Home and School committee (that's what we call PTO for some reason) does a fantastic job with this every year. They always hold a pumpkin contest and here is Garrett's entry. OK so we didn't really carve the pumpkin as much as we molded it!

I Freakin did it Friday #11

First I have to say I am sorry I am a day late and a dollar short on getting I Freakin did it Friday up! I had a lot going on this week and was so intent on getting things done and on time, I didn't get this done and on time! Oh well, my kids were fed, taken care of, I got my first physical since before Mattie was born and got an event at my son's school planned. Yep you can just call me superwoman!

So on to the party!

This weeks most viewed post and I am sure it is no mystery as to why is Mary's Take 5 Copycat Bar from Sweet Little Bluebird.

Wordless Wednesday

Please make sure to come and link up to I Freaking Did it Fridays, 

every Friday here at Miss Information 

 

Crockpot Chocolate Cake

This is a post I put on DJ's Sugar Shack 2 weeks ago, go visit her she is great!

Some of the best cookbooks I own are from Church's or Civic Groups. I even have one that I received as a wedding gift that is recipes from all of the families in the Senate and House of Representatives which is really cool.
One of my friends who is a fantastic cook and never measures anything (I hate her for that) once called me a cookbook whore. Well I have to admit she is right. I have cookbooks coming out everywhere in my kitchen.
This recipe is one that I put in my church's Fall Festival Cookbook. I have no idea where I originally got the recipe from but it is a favorite for parties. It's a little like molten cake but not runny just unbelievably moist! The best part is you cook it in the Crock-pot! That's right Chocolate Cake in the Crock-pot.

Halloween Mantle

So today I finally had time (not really but I did it anyway) to get out the rest of My mantel decorations. It turned out pretty good, not like the wonderful thing I imagined but pretty cute for my first Halloween Mantel

I shared last week how I made the spiderweb garland and the Halloween block letters. The rest was stuff I had. The wreath was made by a friend years ago but something I love to bring out every year. It is a rag wreath made by cutting strips of fabric and tying it around a wreath form in knots. The tree is my favorite thing to bring out every year. Each year we add a new ornament or 2 and it is so fun to watch it change each year. So I know it is not the fabulousness I was planning and you were anticipating but well it is what it is and it's not so bad!
  This post linked up to These Great Blogs, please go visit them

I Freakin' did it Friday #10

Hey everyone, hope you have all had a great week, please make sure to go check out my post on how you can throw donate to breast cancer research by taking a pic and uploading it to Estroven's Facebook page.

OK there was a 3 way tie for most viewed this week

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cookies from Amy's Cooking Adventures

Baby Steppin' with the Fly Lady from Hi! It's Jilly

Halloween Pinterest Picks from Crafty in Crosby

And here are some of my favorite pics for the week

Homemade Caramels from High Heels & Grills

Potato Skins from The Busy Bee's

Simple Halloween Crafts and The Wrapped Letters from Sarah Dawn Designs

Yo-Yo Embellished Hem by Craftiments

If you were featured and want to grab a button just go to my Button Page

Please link up whatever you have done this week that makes you want to say

I FREAKIN' DID IT!

Here are a few SUGGESTIONS when linking to this party (I hate rules)

• PLEASE GO VISIT OTHER LINKS, don't just dump and run
• Follow Miss Information some how, whatever works best for you
• Link to a specific post not to just your blog address and for all our sakes PLEASE turn off your human verification! otherwise known as captcha if you have a blogger blog and  don't know how, go here 
• Please place the button below or a text link on your blog somewhere like the specific post or a link party page...It's the nice thing to do and I would appreciate it if you did!

 

My Favorite Recipes I've Tried from Pinterest

One of the best things about Pinterest is the wonderful recipes I have found to try. I even started a board for my followers called Recipes I tried and Liked from Pinterest. Sometimes I just get so happy about them I forget to photograph them for you and share them. I am going to share some of my all time faves so far and then you can check out the rest at the link above.

This is what I made for lunch yesterday from SkinnyTaste.com  Spaghetti with Sauteed Chicken and Grape Tomatoes You really cannot go wrong with garlic, basil, and tomatoes on anything!

A few weeks ago we had our friends Pete and Cristina with their boys over to watch the Avengers movie and I made this! Yummmmmmm It's Garlic Pesto Chicken with Tomato Cream Penne from Southern Girl Cooking. The only difference is that I added some pesto to the pasta sauce, I cut my chicken into 1" pieces and mixed it in, and I used half in half.

Be in the Pink!

I have to say this is one of the hardest posts I have ever written. This month is breast cancer awareness month. Did you know that every three minutes, a women is diagnosed with breast cancer, and 1 in 8 U.S. women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. It is estimated that 226, 870 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer this year, and about 39,510 will die from the cancer. Breast Cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in women. Please make sure to read to the end of this post to find out a fun and easy way for you to donate to help find a cure.

I would like for you to meet Shawn, she has a smile that will light up any room!

I had the honor of getting to know Shawn over a year ago when our church decided to throw a fundraiser for her, she had breast cancer that had spread to other areas of her body including her brain and was undergoing treatment. As you may, or may not, know whether you have insurance or not being faced with medical bills of this stature can devastate a family. We held a silent auction and a spaghetti dinner and raised around $15,000 for Shawn and her Family. Shawn is 42 and has 3 young boys. Our church has followed along with Shawn and her family to share the good and the bad. Her sister is one of the most valiant people I have ever met. Shawn has always had a smile on her face no matter what was going on.

Shawn and her Sister 

A few weeks ago it was announced that Shawn and her family had decided to discontinue treatment. Last Sunday Shawn lost her battle with breast cancer. I was not one of Shawn's best friends, I did not see her very often however her death has really touched me. She was only one year younger than me and her sons are around the age of mine. Second I remember when my family faced the death of a spouse and father but by the grace of a wonderful friend had a different outcome. On Tuesday I was asked to share a wonderful way to celebrate the brave women who fight this disease and raise money to do just that. Knowing that God works in mysterious and wonderful ways I decided to go with it

Wednesday was Shawn's funeral and I watched as her brave boys sat to honor there wife and mother. As I listened to two of her best friends speak about her I realized what an honor it must have been to have this women in therir lives. She was the kind of mother we all strive to be. She had game nights with her family, she insisted on family dinners and made homemade custom cakes for all of her children's birthdays. It was clear that she honored her children and relished her every moment with them, not just when she was sick but from the very beginning. She volunteered at there school, she sewed and cooked and always gave of her time. She was a loving sister, friend and wife. I asked her sister permission to introduce you to this wonderful woman.  I have only been able to think since that day about what I can do to become a better mother and honor Shawn by not wasting the gift of time. 

So how can you help raise money to fight breast cancer? During the month of October, Estroven is providing women with the necessary tools to host a Sleep Pink-themed party on SleepPink.com. The site will allow party hosts to upload photographs of their events, and 

for every photo, the company will pledge $100 to benefit the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. 

It will also provide information to help organize the Sleep Pink parties including downloadable invitations, menopause-friendly drink and food recipe suggestions, as well as décor and entertainment ideas. To find out how to host an Estroven Sleep Pink-themed party and raise funds for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, visit www.SleepPink.com.

So for the month of October all you need to do is throw a Sleep Pink Party with your friends (it only has to be one friend)  and link up your photo to Estrovens Facebook Page I know Shawn loved a good party so she will be smiling from above as we raise money to help others, after all it was one of the things she was all about, helping others.

So here is the pic from my first party, Me, Shawn and my promise to honor her as a mother and a wife.

 

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Estroven. The opinions and text are all mine.

Poor Mans Payday Candy Bar Mix

Yesterday was my Church's 10 annual Fall Festival. This was my 8th year of being involved and my 7th year of Co-chairing with my alter ego Angelle. It was a beautiful day and such a fun time. One of our favorite Contributors every year is Tom from our local Chick-fil-a. He is so gracious and brings free chicken biscuits to our volunteers every Fall Fest morning. He also donates free Chick-fil-a for a year to our Silent Auction. His restaurant is located in Stone Mountain, Ga so if you are over that way please give him some business!

On Friday while we were setting up we had some candy corn laying around. My friend Mary and I were having a disagreement over the taste of generic candy corn vs. Brach's when Tom came by. He told us about Poor Man's PayDay©. We could not believe it when he told us the recipe. I guess he got a craving because he brought us a bag the next day.

I Freakin' Did it Friday #9

Hey I hope you all are having a great week and are looking forward to a 3 day weekend. My Churches Fall Festival is finally here. I co-chair it with my buddy Angelle, she totally rocks, we are yen and yang when it comes to this. I have been so blessed beyond words to have her as a friend and to have been able to work on this with her the past 9 years. Gelly YOU ROCK!

In addition to this going on this week I have had our school pic-nic, the death and funeral of a wonderful woman who you will meet later this weekend, school stuff, kids all around and my house looks like a pig sty.....

Todays link party is gonna be short and sweet ( hey give me credit I actually got it up)

This week's most viewed link makes me so excited because I think this chick ROCKS! It's Jill from Hi it's Jilly! and her 13 App's She's Most Excited About. I loved this idea so much, you'll be getting my list  soon!

My faves are:

#1 Better Organized Living's Pumpkin Trifle

#2 Growing up Gabel's Crock Pot Dinner Rolls - Really? Yea!

#3 Crafty In Crosby's Burlap Spider Wreath

If you were featured and want to grab a button just go to my Button Page

Please link up whatever you have done this week that makes you want to say

I FREAKIN' DID IT!

Here are a few SUGGESTIONS when linking to this party (I hate rules)

• PLEASE GO VISIT OTHER LINKS, don't just dump and run
• Follow Miss Information some how, whatever works best for you
• Link to a specific post not to just your blog address and for all our sakes PLEASE turn off your human verification! otherwise known as captcha if you have a blogger blog and  don't know how, go here 
• Please place the button below or a text link on your blog somewhere like the specific post or a link party page...It's the nice thing to do and I will appreciate it if you do!

Halloween Mod Podge Block Sign

In my quest to jazz up my mantle this year I wanted to make a block sign. Hubby had some old 2x4 in the basement so I marked it out and had my dad cut it into blocks, the tallest is about 6 inches.

Spiderweb Garland and a Pinhooks Giveaway

This year I wanted to play up my fireplace mantel for Halloween. Here was my first project,