7 takes in 10 min

Alright, I’m giving myself a 10 minute break from working to do these takes. And the countdown starts now. (Go to Jen for more quick takes.)

1. Blogging has taken a backseat to “life” This is definitely a good thing, because life has been crazy. But blessed. I realized I haven’t even been posting meal plans. I keep forgetting to do it on Mondays, and then Tuesday just seems tooooooo late in the week for it. I apologize to the two of you who read them.

2. I made these chocolate chip cookies the other day (grain free/gluten free/low sugar). Ryan is a passionate cookie-lover, and he actually said they were decent. I dared him to guess the main ingredient…

Avocado! [No.]

Flax seed! [No.]

I guess you’ll just have to click on the link to see for yourself. I *will* be making these again.

3. I have tried more recipes for granola bars than any sane person should. However, they’re always too crunchy or too crumbly or not sweet enough…

…until now.

A mom in my playgroup brought these granola bars the other week [ironically titled “playgroup granola bars.”] I was astounded by their chewiness. Perfect texture. Perfect level of sweetness.

I tried them for myself, but made some substitutions [of course]- white whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose; 1/2 cup of sucanat sugar instead of the 3/4 brown sugar; dried blueberries [overpriced!!] instead of raisins. The perfection of texture was not compromised at all.

Oh! And I froze some of them, and they are still chewy after thawing. WIN.

4. I went to bed last night at 9:15. That was the earliest I’ve been to sleep in months…maybe years?

5. #4 was the best decision I’ve made in a looooooooong time. Friday Morning Sarah was eternally grateful to Thursday Night Sarah’s wisdom.

6. Philomena’s hair fits into pigtails now! Prepare to go, “awwwww…”:

7. I know everyone has probably seen these articles already, but regardless both of these made me pause and are worth your consideration:

“How I Almost Became the Smug Mom” by Haley – Mena sounds like her little girl…and yes, it is easy to think it is something “we did,” but really, I know she was just born with a laid-back temperament. No smugness here.

“The Important Thing about Yelling” – I know probably 100 of your Facebook friends linked to this article yesterday, but if for some reason you missed it or were too lazy to click on it yesterday, I really encourage you to take the time to ponder it today. A lot of her comments really hit home for me. Maybe I’ll get deeper about that when I have more time.

Blah! It’s been 15 minutes. How did that happen?

Happy Weekend.