If you click on that button and scroll down towards the middle of the page, you will see a section about a Blogger Panel.

And THEN if you look down to the list of speakers, you might recognize a certain someone — someone who might appear not to belong.

Yes, that’s me listed among those other A-list bloggers.  EEEK!

I’m going to be the one sitting on the end, biting her nails, afraid to speak for fear of saying the wrong thing, wondering all along if I got the wrong invitation.

No, seriously, I’m primed and ready, and I’m looking forward to the conversation.  But mostly I’m looking forward to getting a bunch of holiday gift ideas from the exhibit portion of the event.  (And the food.  Let’s not forget about the food.)  I will be sure to share the best of them with you!  (The gift ideas, not the food.  Sorry.)

1)  I will never attempt such a huge undertaking on my own again without major compensation (or the influence of drugs.)

2) My gift guide wasn’t as valuable as it could have been.

I submitted a query for products on a media site, and I was bombarded with pitches for everything under the sun, moon and stars.  I can assure you that I was quite discerning about what I included. (I saw first-hand almost everything I included, and I politely ignored or turned down hundreds of products.)  And of course I discovered some very cool products that I wouldn’t have otherwise.  STILL.  It wasn’t the collection of products I would have compiled on my own.

I swore I wasn’t going to do another gift guide this year.  It was too much work and too much pressure.  But then I thought, what if I do a more personal gift guide?  What if I just do a series of posts about things I love, things I want, things I am giving?

This blog is about my life, and let’s face it.  The next three months of my life are going to be full of gift buying and gift giving.  So I AM going to do a gift guide of sorts.  But I’m not going to worry about it being comprehensive, balanced, or any of that.  And I’m not going to release it all at once.  And it won’t be full of giveaways (sorry!)  AND it won’t be laid out all purty and consistent like the one from last year.  That was a TON of work, oh my WORD.

Instead, it’s gonna be more of a series of posts.  It will still be full of photos and links, and I’ll tell you about each item and why I’ve chosen it.  I’ve already started compiling ideas in several posts and I can’t wait to start publishing them.

What did YOU learn this week?  Or this month?  Or this year?  Or whenever…

Please link directly to your What I Learned This Week post – not to your main blog post.

And also, please link to this carnival page in your post.  That’s just good blogiquette.

Kristy has a lot of questions, enough for a whole post, as a matter of fact.  Here’s what she wants to know.

I was just wondering about your thoughts regarding sugar substitutes (not Splenda, Nutrasweet, etc.) such as Agave Nectar, Stevia, Honey, etc. Have you tried baking with any of them? Any good results??

Ah, sugar.  The one thing I REALLY want to do better about is sugar.  The more I read, the more I think sugar is the single most harmful thing we put in our bodies.  And this is an area where most experts tend to agree.

I try to explain to my kids that it compromises their immune systems and depletes their bodies of nutrients.  We still eat our fair share, trust me, but I’m trying to do better, and I’m trying to teach my kids why we’re doing this, in hopes that they will take some responsibility about what they eat.

I don’t do a lot of substituting.  (I’m the type to follow a recipe to the letter.)  So lately I’ve been looking for new recipes to add to my repertoire that use natural sugars, instead of trying to substitute in the recipes I already have.

The one substitution I do make is Sucanat for regular white sugar.  It has a richer taste without being quite as sweet, which I really like.  I have not tried Stevia or Agave Nectar.   I use honey when a recipe calls for it, but I haven’t tried subbing it out for sugar.  I also substitute whole wheat pastry flour for white flour in most quick breads and baking.

Keep in mind, though, that sugar is still sugar. Don’t think that you can just replace refined sugar with Sucanat or honey and it’s suddenly harmless.  It may have some nutrients that the refined sugars don’t, but it’s still sugar and it should still be eaten sparingly for optimum health.

Keep that in mind when reading labels too.  Just because a processed snack food contains “evaporated cane juice” rather than “high fructose corn syrup” doesn’t mean it’s okay to consume it with reckless abandon.  When I buy processed foods such as jelly or peanut butter, I look at both the type of sugar used, but also the overall sugar count on the label.  Sometimes an “all natural fruit spread” will have more sugar than its conventional counterpart.

Donielle has a post that neatly sums up the different kinds of sugars, if you’re interested.

Also, other than whole wheat flour, I’m kind of nervous to try any other kind such as Rye or Spelt, etc. Does it have a distinct flavor and when would I substitute that for regular flour?

The best thing to do is just try one and see how you like it.  I have been using spelt flour in some of my bread baking, and I can’t tell any difference.  I haven’t tried rye.  I substitute spelt for part of the wheat flour when I make sandwich bread.  And also, some recipes I’ve found online for quick breads or other baked goods will call for whole wheat pastry flour or spelt interchangeably, and I have used them both with no problem.

I’ve already begun my transition from margarine to butter and sugar to Stevia. How on earth do you keep from going overboard on certain things?? I started reading labels and just trying to be more aware of what I’m putting into my kids and I swear to you that I was ready to throw everything out and start fresh! I hope I didn’t make you sorry you opened this up for questions! LOL

I suppose did jump in with both feet; that’s just my way.  But I had been reading labels for years so it wasn’t a total 180 for me. As I said in Round One, I try to abide by the 80-20 rule.  I don’t want my kids to feel utterly deprived, and I’m trying not to be the weirdest mom on the block, although I think that’s a losing battle.  Heh.

My advice is to take it one thing at a time, and don’t be too hard on yourself. The fact of the matter is, it’s an uphill battle.  It feels like we are being sabotaged at every turn, by the food industry and how they market their prodcuts, by the ad campaigns that beckon us, by the supermarket retailers and the way they design the stores, by the school lunch program that not only serves crap for lunch but then offers a bunch of unnecessary junkie snacks to be purchased on the side… the list goes on.  I know it’s not intentionally malicious on the parts of those involved.  They are simply trying to make a buck or a trillion.  But whether they want to admit it or not, they are making it very hard for us to eat well.

My point is, do your best, but don’t be too hard on yourself because it really IS like swimming upstream.  While Pop-Tarts and Fruit Snacks and sacks of refined sugar and flour are being hurled at you from every angle.

Snort.  I crack myself up.

As an aside, What To Eat by Marion Nestle (the link is in the Amazon widget on my sidebar) is a fascinating and eye-opening guidebook to the ins and outs of the supermarket retail establishment.  It’s primarily about food and nutrition (although she’s a proponent of the low-fat lifestyle, so I’m not always on her page) but the parts I found particularly interesting were her descriptions of how the food industry, government organizations, politics, supermarkets, and marketing strategies all work together to influence what we buy.  If this interests you at all, I highly recommend checking What To Eat out of your local library, or you can purchase it at Amazon.com.

* * *

I’ll tackle one more question because it goes right along with what we’ve been talking about.  Okay, what I’ve been talking about.  But I really do feel like I’m sitting around my dining room table with a bunch of you, chit-chatting and sipping lattes.  Now, wouldn’t that be FUN!?

Melanie says: My question is about substituting. If you substitute, say honey for sugar, as a sweetener, do you make a 1:1 substitute? Is there a rule of thumb? What about coconut oil for other oils in cooking or baking? 1:1? I want to start substituting more healthy sweeteners in when I bake, but I’m not sure how to do it right…

As I said above, I don’t do a whole lot of experimenting with my recipes. I’ve never tried to sub honey for sugar b/c honey is a liquid and sugar is, well, not, lol.  I’m afraid it wouldn’t turn out right.  I do substitute coconut oil 1:1 for vegetable oils in baking.  As I said, Sucanat can be subbed 1:1 for refined sugar.  I’ve never tried Stevia or Agave Nectar.  There seems to be some debate about those and I haven’t tackled that yet.

If you are reading, and you have some advice on making substitutions, feel free to chime in in the comments.

Can Anger Be Constructive? — Parenting Squad.  Another article I wrote for Parenting Squad, discussing 5 causes of anger and how putting a label on our feelings can help us redirect our negative energy to a more productive response.

And that’s enough shameless self promotion!

Highlights from the Real Food Twitter Party — Naturally Knocked Up.  I jumped in and out of this Twitter party Thursday night between working on blog designs and watching Survivor.  Sounds like I missed some great convos.  I’ll try to participate more next time!  YES, there is a next time.  Regular “real food” Twitter parties the first Thurs of each month.  I’m generally not a fan of Twitter parties, as they tend to clog up the Twitter stream, but this is one I might tune into from time to time.

Bloggertunity, A Mom’s Guide to Blogging — Metropolitan Mama.  My good bloggy friend Stephanie has written an eBook on blogging.  She was nice enough to give me a sneak peek, and it was everything I knew it would be.  Over the years that she’s been reading my blog, Stephanie has won me over with her thoughtful comments, her smart business sense, and her commitment to her family.  This is a girl to watch, I’m telling you.  I’ve watched her grow as a blogger, and now she’s sharing that knowledge in her eBook.  You may want to check it out!

Fort Hood Hero is a Mom — Mommy Life.  Cold chills, that’s all I have to say about this.

Lumberjack Plaid

I just don’t get this look at all.  Perhaps it’s because I don’t care for the button-down shirt as a whole, but you put a manly plaid on it, and it just looks, well, manly.  To me.

Perhaps if you have long, flowing tresses and a very fitted version of the shirt with a smaller scale plaid (as in the last picture on this post) AND the figure of a supermodel, you might be able to pull it off.  But for the rest of us?  Eh.  I’m not buying it.

I will, however, make an exception for this jacket.  This I DO like.

I think it’s because it’s a) not a button-down shirt and b) black and white that I actually like it.

Open Toe Boots

Now I love boots.  The collection in my closet is so extensive it’s almost embarrassing.  But this open-toe business just seems like an oxymoron to me.  When I wear a boot, I don’t care to expose my piggy toes to the elements, no matter how beautifully pedicured they may be, thankyouverymuch. Just imagine how gorgeous that boot would be with a closed toe.

Acid Wash Jeans

Now here’s a fad I thought I’d never see again.  (And I was perfectly content with that.)  I guess I was wrong.  Call them Tie-Dye if you want; these are the 80’s acid wash revisited, and they are a fashion abomination.  Can I get an amen?

Oh and also.  Would you pay eighteen-fifty for these?

And um.  That’s $1850.  No, I did not forget a decimal point.

The Boyfriend Jean

Once again, a look that is only flattering on someone who is a size 00 and has the occasion for which to wear a pair of 4-inch platform heels, which is really the only way the boyfriend jean works.  Inotherwords, not this stay-at-home-mom.

The Ugg

I know these have been in fashion for YEARS now, but they are still going strong from anything I can tell.  And I feel obligated to mention them in this post.  The Ugg is, without a doubt THE MOST COMFORTABLE piece of footwear you will ever own.  If you don’t mind looking like a muppet, then by all means, go for it.  I have to admit my eye has adjusted to the look in recent years, and it doesn’t seem nearly as offensive as it used to.

HOWEVER.

If you want the comfort of an Ugg, may I suggest that you try one of their less popular, yet infinitely more flattering styles.  I have the Swell, for instance, and I absolutely love them.  The foot of the boot is more boot-like than slipper-like, and I usually wear them over my jeans so the pink stitching shows.

They even make a pair with a stylish wedge heel.

Or there is this, which resembles a riding boot.

And if you want to spoil your special someone this Christmas with something luxurious, I highly recommend the Coquette slipper.  I tried on this slipper at the mall a few weeks ago, and the salesman had to physically pry it off my foot to get me out of the store.  Don’t be fooled by the Ugg-imitation at Tar-Jay.  I’m wearing it right now, and while it’s warm and snuggly, it no where NEAR rivals the comfort of the Ugg.

And that, as they say, is that!

How about you?  What are some fashion trends you are avoiding this season?

Now I have some homework for you.

First, click on over to Big Mama’s Fashion Friday post and see what great finds she uncovered this week at the Nordstrom semi-annual sale — a sale that I would have most definitely experienced this week if I weren’t stuck at home with two sniffly children.  (To which my husband says, thank goodness!)

Then clickity-click over to Blissful Style for the Fight the Frump carnival and more great style tips and tricks.

THEN Girlymama was inspired to write a post about trends she swore she’d never wear but now she loves.  (And as far as the boyfriend jean is concerned, Girlymama is part of the 0.01% of the population who can pull off the boyfriend jean.  She is as cute as a button and has the body of an 18-year-old, even though she has born 3 children.  It is SO not fair.

Anyone else got a fashion post to share?  Heck, I may as well start a Mr. Linky.  SHEESH!

It all started about two weeks ago, when I got home from a Friday night event to discover that my middle child had come down with a fever.  It was mild, and by Sunday morning she was better.

Then on Thursday I got a call from school, and my son had a mild fever.  By the next day he was much better, and he went out Trick-or-Treating on Saturday and all was well.

Then on Tuesday of this week I was at the mall, perusing Gymboree and putting a few items on hold for their Friends and Family event which starts today (FYI, for those Gymboree fans out there — that’s 30% off!!) when I got a call on my cell phone.  It was the school nurse.  My middle child once again succumbed to a fever.  I brought her home, and this time it’s been accompanied head and chest congestion.

On Wednesday I got another call.  This time I recognized the number as the school nurse’s private line.  It’s a little too early in the year to have the number to the school nurse memorized, dontcha think?  Process of elimination indicated it would be my son who was keeping her company.  Sure enough, he didn’t have a fever, but he was feeling under the weather.  He has the congestion going on as well.

Amazingly enough, my youngest child has escaped unscathed, at least so far.

My kids aren’t sick enough to worry about, and they aren’t even sick enough to make them crabby.  They’re just sick enough to be quarantined and to require extra rest.  You can imagine how well THAT’S going over.

My biggest concern?  Not the swine flu or the bird flu or whatever animal flu is going around this year.  We leave for Disney World in 10 days.  We HAVE to kick this virus out the door for good.

Plus, there are those clothes on hold at Gymboree.  I only have till Sunday to get my 30% discount.  So they need to get better FAST.

Yeah, I’m that kind of mom.

Oh, and also.  My husband arrived home at 6:30 this morning after working for 22 hours straight.  (At least, that’s his story, and he’s sticking to it.)  So he’s also home today, catching up on sleep.

So I have a houseful.  Fortunately I have design work to keep me busy while I’m confined to the house.  WHICH.  I should really get started on.

What are you up to today?

Here’s what I did:

I heated my trusty iron skillet and melted about an inch of lard.  Then I cut up 2 large chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces.

For the breading I did exactly as they directed — I mixed a cup of flour, ¼ tsp salt, ½ tsp paprika, ¼ tsp pepper, and ½ tsp baking soda in a glass pie plate. Then I added ½ cup of water and 1TBSP vinegar.  It was really pasty so I added another ¼ cup water.

I dredged the chicken in the breading and used tongs to place them in the hot oil.  When they were browned on the first side, I carefully flipped them over to cook on the other side.  Sure, my kitchen is covered with grease from floor to ceiling, but it was worth it.  (But now I’m putting one of those fancy deep fryers on my Christmas list.)

I just need to learn to make Sweet & Sour sauce and we’ll be all set.  We just ate them with ketchup because we’re classy like that.

P.S.  I hear that chicken is also good fried in beef tallow, but I haven’t bought that yet.  It just so happens that this week Kelly is giving away a “honking sized pail” of beef tallow from U. S. Wellness Meats.

This post was linked up with the Grace’s Kitchen Friends and Tasty Tuesday blog carnivals.

I’d like to be all organized and group my answers in such a way that each post focuses on the same general topic, but instead I think I’ll just go in order because otherwise I’m likely to get all confused.  Which doesn’t take much, trust me.

As always, I want to be clear that I am SO not an expert on this.  I’ll just tell you what I’m doing, but of course you should do your own research and come to your own conclusions.

AND I also want to say that yes, you can drive yourself crazy with this.  I try to keep everything in perspective, and from the very beginning I tried to adopt Kelly’s 80% rule.  I figure if we’re eating right 80% of the time, I’m not going to let the other 20% bring out the crazy.

Now that I’ve got the 15286 disclaimers out of the way…

Lynn asks:  I’ve been reluctant to try whole milk because I’m afraid of the extra calories. I drink a lot of milk and I’m afraid that I’ll gain weight if I drink whole milk. Any advice?

A wise Jenny Craig consultant once told me, “It’s not what you eat; it’s how much you eat.”  She was talking specifically about weight loss, mind you, not nutrition.  But I think that advice was pretty bang-on, and I try to keep it in mind.

I drink an 8-oz cup of whole milk maybe 3 or 4 times a week, and I take it on my cereal almost every morning.  I have actually lost a couple of pounds since going whole-hog into the whole foods, and I attribute that to less snacking and eating a better balance of foods.  I tend to eat a lot of carbs if I’m not very intentional about incorporating other food groups into my diet.  But I digress, which I’m guessing is no surprise.

My point is, if you are drinking a half gallon of milk a day, then switching to whole may cause you to gain weight.  But if you are drinking a glass or two a day at most, I don’t think you’ll notice a difference.  Hey, try it.  The worst thing that can happen is you decide to switch back.

Kelly asks:  I share your passion for real food. But lately, I’ve been wondering about all the butter I use in my cooking. I’m starting to wonder if I’m going too far the other direction. (Not sure how to change it other than eat fewer foods that require butter.)  What do you do?

Well, you see, I have ALWAYS eaten butter liberally.  It’s a common joke around our house, Having some bread with that butter? I come by it honestly.  You should see my Grampa butter his bread.  And you know what?  He’s 92,  lives independently, and goes to work every day.  If the butter hasn’t killed him yet, I don’t think I have anything to worry about.

I cook with lots of butter and olive oil; I always have.  So that hasn’t really been much of a change for me.  I’ll refer once again to the “It’s not what you eat; it’s how much you eat” philosophy on this one.  I use plenty of it in my cooking, but I try to keep my portion sizes small when I sit down to the table.

And also, raw butter from grass-fed cows is supposedly so nutritious that I actually feel good about eating it.  It’s hard to come by, but I go out of my way to get it.

Darla asks:  Flour. I gotta know when you use whole wheat vs white.  Also…pasta, always whole wheat? If so, what brand?

It’s been ages since I’ve had a round of Ask the Housewife so I thought I’d ask you if there is anything you want to know about my whole foods journey.  It can be a question about specific foods, or about how it’s going, or how I do certain things, or how I make certain things.  Anything.  Sky’s the limit!

Ask away, and I will do my best to answer all of your questions over the next week or two.

2. Being a Phillies fan is painful at times.

3. Laundry has a way of multiplying.

4. The cable company will eventually realize you are getting channels you are not paying for and will cut you off.  (Yes, we notified them originally; they just now finally figured it out.)

5. It’s a real bummer to get cut off from some of your favorite shows mid-season.  **Project Runway, ahem.**

6. Fancast is really cool, but I wish they had Project Runway and The Food Network shows.

7. When your friends are hurting, you hurt too.

8. Snickers bars don’t last long in a house not accustomed to having sweets around.

9. There is no substitute for hand-kneading bread dough.

10. If I continue to hand-knead my bread dough, I should have some amazing guns by Christmastime.

What did YOU learn this week?