jocelyn wants to be a follower. i hope you do, too.

At times like this, I wish I was a geek.

No, really.

Because then I could teach you how to be a follower of MOPS@Northgate by taking magical pictures of the computer screen, and Photoshopping arrows and words and stuff so that you could know what to do.

But I'm not a geek. I was a geek a little more than 12 years ago, but I seem to have outgrown that. Not totally outgrewn, or anything, or I would not be an aspiring geek.

Moving on.

To become a follower, you need to have an account with the googles. So go ye to the googles and create an account. It is easy peasy.

Then, when you are visiting MOPS@Northgate, look at the column on the right. There's the What is MOPS? thingie, and the About Me thingie, and then the Followers thingie. Right under the word Followers, are the words FOLLOW THIS BLOG. Click those words. Then, choose Follow Publicly, or Follow Anonymously.

If you're a blogger, and you're looking for traffic, then you should follow publicly, so people can see your picture, click it, and go visit you. That's why you'll see my sort-of-wonky picture with fuzzed out trees and a blue and white striped sweater. Because I likes me some bloggy traffic. And the other current follower? Super cool Sue Smith, the gal who so kindly offered to take those horrific photos of me from Tuesday's meeting. And not that the word horrific has anything to do with her mad skillz, but did you see those pictures?

If you're lucky, I'll take a really, truly flattering picture of you and post it here.

Like this one:


Or this one:


Hi, Courtney. Just kidding. That's not Courtney. Or is it?

And when you become a follower of MOPS@Northgate, MOPS@Northgate will become a follower of you.

And then we'll just run around in circles.

how to make a pop up card

Big thanks to Sandra for teaching us how to make pop-up cards that are ornaments. Or are they ornaments that are cards? You decide. Here's what we did.

You will need plain cardstock, and pretty cardstock, a piece of ribbon about six inches long, a photo, scissors, a pencil, a ruler (if you like straight lines), and glue.

Fancy.


A paper cut? Already?

Amateur.



When you fold your papers, make sure the top part of the card
(which is on the bottom in this picture, sorry about that)
has more of the pretty paper than the bottom.

In other words, fold the plain paper in half, and fold the pretty
paper so that the top part is bigger than the bottom part.

Got that?



Here is where we make magic. Or something.

Make two cuts, about 3/4 inch long, perpendicular to the fold of the pretty paper.

If you are like me, you'll enjoy using a ruler so it's all very neat and orderly.





This poor woman has been trapped in her house with
three awfully crabby children for nearly two weeks.

Send help.

Sometimes help looks like coffee or truffles.
I'm just saying.



Back to that help request.











Some people can follow directions, and
brought pictures to MOPS this week.

Not me.

That's why you're admiring other people's cards right about now.







And that, my friends, is how to make a fancy pop-up card.

easy quiche recipe

Easy Quiche
(thanks, Courtney!)

• 1 10 oz package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup bisquick
• 3 eggs
• 1 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
  

Preheat oven to 400 and lightly grease 9 inch pie dish. Mix broccoli, onion, green pepper and cheese in the pie dish. Beat milk, bisquick, eggs, salt & pepper with hand mixer until smooth. Pour over the veggie and cheese mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and then let stand for five minutes before serving.

reaching out to the children of the world

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has touched the lives of millions of boys and girls around the world by providing simple gift-filled shoe boxes. Consider taking your kids on a trip to the dollar store to fill a box with little gifts: pencils, paper, toothbrush and toothpaste, bouncy balls, stickers, dried fruits and other snacks that don't go bad.

Some children have never heard of Christmas; many who know about Christmas will never receive a gift. Operation Christmas Child is one simple, inexpensive way to reach out to children in underdeveloped societies around the world. It is also a wonderful way to teach your children about giving.

For more information visit Samaritan's Purse, or leave a comment with your question. Many local churches, including Northgate Free Methodist, are involved in collecting shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, and will be happy to receive your donation during the week of November 17-24, 2008.

coffee night

What do all these women have in common?
They are already enjoying a fine cup of coffee.
But...

They are all by themselves.

YOU HAVE A CHOICE.

DON'T DRINK ALONE.

Come to Main Street Coffee tonight at 7.
Bring your short people, or don't.

Not a coffee drinker?
Main Street Coffee offers a variety of beverages,
including a most satisfying hot chocolate
that might be necessary if it keeps snowing*.



*Apologies for using the S-Word on our nicey-nice mommy blog. I will do better in the future. I promise.

welcome

Today was our first official MOPS meeting, and we hope you enjoyed yourselves!

our spectacular centerpieces

yummy treats

making shrinky-dink name tags

that Rachel, she's so creative!

Check out Whimsy's blog to see where we stole borrowed the idea for shrinky-dink name tags. You should say shrinky-dink a bunch of times in a row. Shrinky-dink shrinky-dink shrinky-dink shrinky-dink. It's even more fun when you say shrinky-dinky-shrinky-dinky-shrinky-dinky. Try it. You know, when you're alone and nobody will hear how silly you really are.

And, as promised, the banana bread recipe from today.

Banana-Pecan Bread
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour a regular-sized loaf pan. (Or don't if you're not into that. I didn't and the bread still came out of the pan rather nicely.)

In a serious mixer or food processor (at least 7-cup, or you'll wish you hadn't) beat together:
6 Tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
3 very ripe, smashed bananas
3 eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Add:
1 cup all purpose (white) flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon EACH: baking soda, baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped pecans (feel free to use whatever nuts you prefer. I prefer pecans because lately they've been cheaper than walnuts.)

Mix together until just combined.
Pour into (un)prepared pan.
Bake for 60 minutes, until the loaf is dark golden brown, and the sides are pulling away from the pan.
Let the bread rest in the pan for five minutes, then cool completely on a rack.