JAMSquared

Welcome to the Operation Write Home Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop. I’m super excited to be a part of this blog hop, as it is the first hop I’ve participated in where my blog is a stop. For my readers who don’t know what a blog hop is, a blog hop is an event where participants move from one blog to another to read the entries on a related subject.

Today’s hop started at OWH Stars & Stamps. You should have come from Loni’s Life. After reading my post, you will hop on to Crafty Rika.

Operation Write Home is a wonderful organization that I discovered earlier this year. Their mission is to support our nation’s armed forces by sending blank homemade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude (called Any Hero cards) to encourage them.

I like organizations that support our nation’s troops. I’ve baked cookies for Operation Baking Gals, but making cards is a little less time sensitive in terms of getting to the post office. Both of my grandfathers served in the Army. An uncle retired from the Air Force. An aunt served in the Navy. Her husband, my uncle, retired from the Navy, and one of their sons, my cousin, currently serves in the Navy. James’ grandfather served in the Army and his Dad did a stint in the Air Force. Needless to say, I think it is very important to support our troops. They put their life on the line, so that we may live in freedom.

I’m sharing two cards with you today. The first is a red, white and blue missing you card in honor of Memorial Day. Memorial Day was originally held May 30, 1868 in commemoration of soldiers killed in the American Civil War. After World War I, its observance was extended to all U.S. men and women who died while in military service and is federally observed on the last Monday in May.

My Heart is With You Card

Stamps: Designed to Delight I {Heart} the USA; Stampin’ Up Small Sayings (sentiment card 1); Saltbox Studio Celebration Sayings (sentiment card 2)
Cardstock: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Real Red, Brilliant Blue
Ink: Dell printer; Stampin’ Up Brilliant Blue (sentiments)
Tools: Cuttlebug Stars embossing folder; Stampin’ Up Scallop Trim border punch, Word Window punch

You can pick up the American flag heart digi stamp here for free. The second card is almost the same, but I changed the sentiment to make it an Any Hero card.

Thank You for Serving Card

I didn’t use any ribbon on these cards, but one of my most favorite tricks is for a quickie bow. Check out the video tutorial for it here on my friend Geeta’s blog (***Edited to Add*** Looks like something happened to Geeta’s video and it can’t be played now). I haven’t tied a bow on card without using this technique since I learned it. It is so easy and the bow always comes out looking great.

Back at the beginning of the month, I was very fortunate and picked up three separate blog candies: one for being the randomly selected participant in the All That Scraps Weekly Wednesday Challenge, one from a vender giveaway on Craft Critique and one from a Prairie Fairy blog hop. I want to share my good luck with ya’ll and am offering the following blog candy to one randomly selected commenter on this post. I will select a winner on June 1st at 3 PM CST. Candy consists of Stampin’ Up So Very set, star foam glitter stickers, patriotic adhesive rhinestones, patriotic ribbon, and 5 stamped images.

Blog Candy

I am also offering runner-up blog candy of the 5 same stamped images. There will be 1 runner-up per 100 unique comments.

Thanks for visiting my blog today and have a blessed Memorial Day weekend.

***Edited to Add*** Apparently, a number of people have had trouble leaving comments. If you go directly to the post (click on the title so you only see that post), you can scroll down to the  comment box. Another way, there is a number under the date for the post (upper left side of post). That number is the number of comments. Clicking on the number will take you directly to the post, allowing you to scroll down to comment box.

Smiling Jessica Watches Mommy Take Down Diapers, 5/18/10

Jessica Playing, 5/19/10

Last week, I mentioned that feeding Jessica solid food was rife with frustration. I also mentioned that she surprised me when I gave her some of my banana and ate it up. Ever since then, it’s been like something just clicked and she eats the solid food I give her like a champ. I’m excited about feeding her now. In fact, I bought some eggplant and lima beans at the grocery store tonight. She hasn’t mastered the art of putting the finger food in her mouth yet (I have to put it in her mouth), but it sure is fun to squish.

Trying Finger Food, 5/21/10

On a related note, Jessica now has a tooth. This is an exciting, yet also frustrating event. Since she was 2 months old, Jessica has slept through the night without any problems. The last 6 out of 7 nights, she has not. My poor baby is hurting. That tooth just won’t let her sleep. Fortunately, 5 of the 6 nights she woke up after I put her down for bed, it was before I went to bed. However, when she has woken up, it has taken 1 to 2 hours to get her back to sleep. The worst was Wednesday night, when she woke up at 3 AM and didn’t go back to bed until 6 AM. I just hope it gets easier.

Jessica has progressed from scooting, to army crawling. It’s really cute. She crawls over to the xbox and pulls games out of the cabinet. It’s like she wants to play tetris.

Came across this blog this morning. Thought it would be fun.

Friday Fill-Ins #178

1. Cold Fried Chicken — the best food to take on a picnic.
2. Summer in the sun.
3. I hate flip flops.
4. To love someone is to give of yourself.
5. I enjoy a long hike.
6. When I crave food, it’s usually fried chicken.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to grocery shopping, tomorrow my plans include the OWH blog hop and Sunday, I want to take Jessica to the park!

Last Saturday, I made these Onion Mustard Buns. It was the second time I had made them, but they turned out much better this time. The previous time, I had let them rise for too long (gone on a walk with Jessica to the park and missed the baking window) and they fell flat in the oven. They were still tasty, but flat and a little hard. This time, they turned out perfect. I made them a little larger than the recipe called for since I planned to serve them as hamburgers buns. I also used them for sandwiches this week. The mustard flavor is subtle, but provides a nice taste. I totally recommend you try this recipe.

Salmon Burger Served on a Mustard Onion Bun

Onion Mustard Buns

Source: Best of Country Potluck Recipes

Ingredients:

• package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
• 2 cups warm milk (110° to 115°)
• 3 tablespoons dried minced onion (I used 2 teaspoons onion powder, because I didn’t have minced onion)
• 3 tablespoons prepared mustard (I used stone-ground mustard with no added salt)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 6 to 6-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add milk, onion, mustard, oil, sugar, salt and 4 cups flour; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down; divide into 24 pieces (I only divided into 16 pieces). Flatten each piece into a 3-in. circle (I didn’t really flatten much). Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Yield: 2 dozen (16 if you want slightly larger buns perfect for burgers)

I always enjoy joining the ATS challenges. They have a nice mix of challenges: some easy and some that put me outside my stamping comfort zone. This week’s challenge, ATS Weekly Wednesday Challenge #29, was to use dry embossing. I also used the sketch from Crazy 4 Challenges Challenge #38.

I wish I hadn’t colored her socks red, but initially I hadn’t planned on cutting her out. I like that it is a clean and simple card and that the dry embossing gives the sentiment.

Have a Birthday Ice Cream Cone!

Stamps: C.C. Designs Sweet Kiki La Rue
Cardstock: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Real Red, Always Artichoke
Designer Paper: Stampin’ Up Summer Picnic
Ink: Stazon Jet Black
Markers: Stampin’ Up Real Red, Blush Blossom, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Regal Rose, Barely Banana
Tools: Cuttlebug Happy Birthday embossing folder; Xyron 5″ Creative Station