It's party time!!! My International Pot Luck Blog Hop!

Hello, everyone!!! Come on in!

Today I'm hosting my first blog hop and it's sure to be a good time.

You see, in the three+ years that I've been blogging I've made some dear friends.

My local friends know how much I love to entertain, and every time Doug and I have

a party in our house, there are so many blogging friends I'd love to have join us.

Next best thing?

A virtual pot luck including 21 of us from around the planet,

all posting at the same time and linking to each other.

Crazy fun, eh?

If you were really coming to my house, this is how I'd look greeting you at the front door. However, many times if I happen to see our guests pull up, I'm so excited that I run outside to the car to say hello. Another thing about me? I'm a hugger. I'd hug you - even if your arms are full of stuff you're bringing in. And then I'd probably hug you again when you get inside and have both arms free. I'm happy to see you!

Once you're inside I'm going to offer you something to drink. I always have wine on hand, beer is usually the boy's choice, and soft drinks and iced tea. Today, it's red wine.

In preparation of this virtual pot luck, I tested two appetizers thinking that Doug and I would pick the one we liked the best. Wouldn't you know? I liked the oven-fried zucchini best, and he liked the ham and cheese quiche bites.

I've shared the link for the zucchini above, but I'll type out the recipe for the ham and cheese quiche bites as it is my own variation of a recipe I've had for a while.

Ham and Cheese Quiche Bites

1 c. {8 oz} flour

1-1/2 T. baking powder

1/2 c. {4 oz} vegetable oil

1/4 c. {2 oz} milk

1/2 c. {4 oz} grated cheddar cheese*

1/2 c. {4 oz} grated Swiss cheese*

1/4 c. {2 oz} parmesan cheese*

1/4 c. {2 oz} finely chopped ham*

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 green onions, chopped {use the green parts too}

salt and pepper to taste

(* measurements are approximate)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour batter into greased/non-stick mini-muffin tin, filling each cup almost full. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes until sides of muffins are light brown. These are great fresh out of the oven, but they also freeze well to be used for future parties or quick breakfast snacks.

♦ ♦ ♦

So, here's how this party works: I'm linking to my dear friend, Rinda so you'll want to visit her next. At the end of Rinda's post she'll link to the next blogger on the list {Beverly}, and so on. Want to know something really cool? This pot luck blog hop goes all over our planet! Starting in Arizona, and going across our states {west coast to east!}, over to England, Ireland, and Spain, and then way down under to Australia. The blog hop loop comes back around to Arizona with a stop at my girl C's house! I hope you're hungry!

Safe and happy travels, everyone.

Now, let's head on over to Rinda's place...

♥

The Menu and the Map:

Drinks/Appetizers

Deb @ PaperTurtle – http://paperturtle.blogspot.com {you are here!}

Rinda @ Gallo Organico – http://gallorganico.blogspot.com/  

Beverly @ BE glorious - http://beglorious.blogspot.com/

Soups/Salads

Alison @ Life in the Slow Lane – http://alisonslife-in-the-slow-lane.blogspot.com/

Fiona @ Staring at the Sea – http://fiona-staringatthesea.blogspot.com/

Amy @ Over at our Place - http://overatourplace.blogspot.com/

Side/Main Dishes

The “Not So” Small One @ From High in the Sky – http://fromhighinthesky.blogspot.com/

Jacky @ Scrappy Jacky - http://scrappyjackylive.blogspot.com/

Deb @ Deb’s World – http://debs14.blogspot.com/

Ginger @ Ginger’s Life of Spice - http://gingerslifeofspice.blogspot.com/

Karen @ Tales from the Scrapheap - http://talesfromthescrapheap.blogspot.com/

Karen @ Random Reflections - http://kbwalker.blogs.com/random_relfections/

Ruth @ Everyday Life of a Suburban SAHM - http://suburbansahm.blogspot.com/

Desserts

Stephanie @ La Dolce Vita - http://dreamingladolcevita.blogspot.com/

Ruth @ Chatty Crafty Arty Pig - http://chattycraftyartypig.blogspot.com/

Margaret @ Finnegan Begin Again – http://margaretfinnegan.blogspot.com/

Becca @ La Jolie Fleur Rouge - http://lajoliefleurrouge.blogspot.com/

Rhona @ Life in General - http://rhonacs-lifeingeneral.blogspot.com/

Cheri @ Scrap Dreams - http://cheriandrews.blogspot.com/

Carrie @ Rosalind Revival – http://www.rosalindrevival.com/ {dessert/drink wrap-around}

I'm having a party, and you're invited!

{Don't worry, Doug, you don't have to do yard work for this one!}



Please join me for a
Potluck Recipe Exchange / Blog Hop

Date: Saturday, March 24, 2012

Time: 5:00 a.m. Arizona time
{you can convert your time here}
Please bring one of the following:
1)  drink or appetizer

2)  soup or salad

3)  main or side dish

4)  dessert

♥

RSVP via email: paperturtle{at}cox{dot}net
♥

Here's how it will work: I'd like for you think of your favorite party drink or food. Give me your go-to recipe when you're invited somewhere and get to bring whatever you want. When you RSVP for the party, tell me what you'll be bringing {just tell me the category, not the specific item}. The blog hop will be organized in the order of categories shown above {so if you sign up for a drink or appetizer, you'll be one of the first in line, desserts will be at the end...}.

Your party post on March 24th should include the following:

1) A photo of your dish, along with the recipe - I plan to share a photo and recipe - not photographs of the making of the dish, but you can certainly show the prep work too.
2) A photo of yourself welcoming us to your home {kind of like if you were throwing a party} - No need to dress up or be all fancy - unless you want to. It's your blog and your leg of the party, so you decide.

So, go ahead and RSVP if you're in...and remember to tell me what {category} you'll be bringing to the party. I'll send an email out the week before and let everyone know the order of blog posts and who you'll be linking to.

Sound like a plan?

Let me know if you have any questions.

:o)

The Glory of 3 ~ a blog hop post

Today I'm posting as part of a blog hop hosted by my friend, Mel over at I Speak Melsh. If you landed here by way of Amy's blog from the land down under, welcome to Arizona! The theme is an alphanumeric sort, and my assignment is to talk about the number three.

I liked this little challenge because it required a bit of creative thinking. As I began thinking about what I could say about the number three, all kinds of things came to me. There are so many things that come in three's...

morning, noon, and night

past, present, and future

Father, Son, Holy Spirit

3 wise men

3 kings

me, myself, and I. :o}

In the "entertainment" industry we have:

The Three Stooges {you can see a list of zany quotes here}

The 3 Musketeers

My Three Sons

And music by Three Doors Down and Three Dog Night

How about Knock Three Times {Tony Orlando and Dawn}

And what would the Twelve Days of Christmas be without 3 French Hens?!?!

And you've got your nursery rhymes that come in three's:

3 Blind Mice

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Three Little Pigs

And Billy Goats Gruff {yep, there were three!}

You have your metaphors:

3's a crowd

Third wheel

Three sheets to the wind.

You have your fun and games:

3 cheers!

3 strikes you're out!

3 legged race

3 day weekend

3 ring circus

But my favorite version of 3?

We!♥ ♥ ♥

Wanna' see what everyone else is doing for this fun little blog hop? Head on over to Peonies and Pennies's blog for the next edition. Here's a list of all the bloggers who are participating: {My apologies for the crazy spacing and formatting throughout this post. Blogger was not cooperative!} I Speak Melsh, BE Glorious, Captured On Film, Chatty Crafty Arty Pig, Creating Room, Curiouser and Curiouser, Daily Life - Bits and Pieces, Deb's World, Den's Crafty Diary, From High In The Sky, Gallo Organico, Ginger's Life Of Spice, Handmade By Kirsty, Havoc and Mayhem, Heather's Scraps, Helena's Creative Maven, Holaday's Happy Hearts, Jeant-Jinnag, Just Jimjams, K's Crafty Corner, Life...As I See It, {Life Behind The Purple Door}, Lisa E Design Blog, Living Life One Blessing At A Time, Mary's Musings, Michelle Loves..., Obstinate Pursuit, Over At Our Place, Paper Turtle {you are here!}, Peonies and Pennies, Random Reflections, Rosalind Revival, Scrap Dreams, Scrappyjacky, Scrapworthy Lives, Staring At The Sea, Surefiredaisy Says, This Kalil Life, This Little Life Of Mine, and Xnomads' Blog.

Celebrating Blog Friendships

Welcome to my section of the
"Celebrating Blog Friendships" blog hop!

It's been one year since I participated in Shimelle's "Blogging for Scrapbookers" class. When I registered for the class I was thinking, "Oh, I hope I learn how to add buttons to my sidebar..." and various other things that now seem fairly simple. And you know what? I did learn how to add buttons to the right side of my blog {see?}. And I learned the importance of post labels, and giving credit where credit is due, and some simple basic rules of blog etiquette. I'd say, all in all, that I really got my money's worth from taking Shimelle's class.
.
But wait! There was more!!! There was a bonus feature of Shimelle's class that hadn't been advertised in the syllabus; a bonus feature I wouldn't have believed if she had advertised it. A bonus feature that is worth more than any extra money I could have paid with the registration fee. The bonus?
,

Blog friends.

♥.

This is not to say that all of my blog friends have come from Shimelle's class. No, some have come from people I've met along the way while blog hopping and leaving comments, as well as those who happen to land at PaperTurtle and leave me a nice comment.

So, how do you describe the importance, the dear-at-heart, the affection that you feel for friends you've met while blogging? How do you explain it to someone who asks straight away, "What's a blog?" {~sigh~ Never mind.}
.

One of the aspects that's been particularly fun and interesting for me this past year is having made friends with bloggers who live outside of Arizona... outside of the United States even! Yes, through an unexpected perk of blogging, I have friends all over the world.

It's been really interesting having friends who live on the other side of the planet...or way down under...or across the very country I live in. I've learned that we don't use the letter U as often as my friends across the ocean (colour, favourite...) and that if I've learned something I have learnt it. I've learnt that not every one has tried candy corn, and that minced meat is widely used at Christmas time in other parts of the world; that football is soccer, played with a round ball not an oval shaped one; and that biscuits are cookies, not breakfast bread to be eaten with gravy. Most importantly, I have learned that even though our traditions and our accents aren't always the same, our hearts are, and that we all have the same issues, similar history, creative hearts, and lofty dreams. We support each other in times of need, and we applaude each other's successes.

We are friends in every sense of the word
and I couldn't feel more grateful.

♥

About this post: Two of the friends I have met through blogging (Jo and Lizzie) have organized a little blog party and I'm participating in it. There are three things you may like to know:

1) I'm doing a little giveaway for those of you who wish to put in for it. I'm giving away a set of American measuring cups to anyone who doesn't already own a set but would like to have one. I'd love for you to leave a note anyway, but if you want to be included in the drawing just mention that in your comment.

2) Lizzie and Jo are sponsoring an additional prize if you'd like to play along (info will be at the end of this blog hop). You'll collect letters at each hop-stop to form a final phrase, and the letter for my post is "R"; and now,

3) Head on over to Amy's blog to continue your journey with "Celebrating Blog Friendships." Hold on to your hat! This blog hop will take you around the world!

♥ ♥ ♥

November Attitude of Gratitude
* I am so very grateful for the wonderful people and kindred spirits I have met through my blog. It has been such an unexpected blessing getting to know each and every one of you. My gratitude for blog friendships has been multipied countless times this past week with all of the love and support you've given with regard to the loss of our dear friend and my aunt. Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart. Words simply cannot express my gratitude on this one. ♥