Coming attractions

On this my blogiversary month, I’ll host my own version of Oprah’s Favorite Things show. No, no. I won’t be giving away a car, not unless you’re interested in picking up the payments for my humpty. I just mean I plan on keeping it exciting, entertaining and fun. I bet you’re curious about the lineup, right?

Here are your November/December listings:

Tips galore: with the holidays right around the corner, I’ll be supplying you with cooking and planning tips to get you ready for the festivities. There’s a twist, though. These tips will be shared daily on Twitter and Facebook beginning today. Be sure to follow me @chefityourself (on Twitter) and Chef It Yourself (on FB). Because I like you so, I’ve made your life easy by providing you with buttons that’ll take you straight there. Now go forth and follow.

Guest appearances: I’ll call this Tuesdays with…, and yes, you guessed it, every Tuesday through December 13th I will have a guest post by one of my blogging buddies. Personally, I’m uber excited about this one.

Holiday recipe makeovers: Starting with the side dish you choose on the poll, I will attempt to improve side dishes, at the very least, get them out of the proverbial rut. This being the Latina-Caribbean blog, the recipes will have some sabor.

Q&A: I want to open up the lines and answer questions you may have about cooking, entertaining, meal planning, Panama, my puppy, whatever! You ask, I’ll answer. Each week I’ll open up a post for you to ask away. As a bonus, a question will be randomly selected and that person will receive a little gift from me.

New digs: Yep, Chef It Yourself will be moving to it’s own piece of Internet real estate. I don’t have set date for this, I’m OCD’ing on layout and the like.

That’s it. I think. That’s it for now. I hope you’re looking forward to all of it.

Impatiently yours,
Anamaris

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Badges and Awards

I’ve made some really nice friends out here in the blogosphere. I think it is really interesting how much bigger AND smaller the world has become because of the Internet. Aren’t you amazed to think that this whole thing got started a mere 20 years ago? HOW DID WE EVER SURVIVE?!! I find technological advances baffling.

I digress. A couple of my blogger friends gave me goodies. Goodies with little strings attached to them, but goodies nonetheless. My first goody award came from RedKathy over at The Essence of Womanhood. She gave me the Happy 101 Award. See?

Cool, eh? Good friends give on to others. They share the love and wealth and cupcakes. And so, the rules for this privilege are to

a) copy and display the award on one’s blog. 
b) List who gave me the award and link to their blog (you can find Kathy through the linky above or by clicking the award, if you MUST touch it)
c) List 10 things that make me happy, and
d) Pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know.

OK, a & b are done. Now for C = Happy Time

1. My sweetheart, Lindsay. It’s never too late when you find a good man.
2. All my dear, dear supportive and funny friends.
3. My mom and everything she taught me and still does.
4. Rice. Yes, it really, really does.
5. Coffee and red wine, no particular order.
6. Taking pictures, even when I don’t think they’re perfect.
7. Cooking for the Hubbs and friends.
8. Most dogs.
9. This blogging adventure.
10. YOU, my dear reader–whoever and wherever you are.

I think I’ll pass this one on to some of the many blogs that make me happy. I’m mixing it up a bit for you: Kitchen Masochist, JB at Purplume, Brooke at Shutterboo, Jen at Sweet Water, and to Jan at Braise, Boil, Bake.

Now the next goody award came from Thas. She gave me the Honest Scrap award… Darn it! I like pretending to be interesting so much more, but I s’pose I’ll oblige her and you.

This one requires I share 10 things, honest-reality-based things I guess, about myself. Then I can pass it on to other foodie bloggers. Doesn’t this remind you of a slam book? Anyway, here goes…

1. This blogging thing is both exciting and incredibly stressful…, but I love it!
2. I think it sucks that I never worried about aging because 40 seemed like a long-shot. Joke’s on me!
3. I am secretly addicted to Housewives of Atlanta. There. That monkey is off my back, maybe I can give it up now.
4. I can’t properly say the words: graduation, hurricane and was mispronouncing the heck out of Chevy. It’s a Latin thing. I hope.
5. I want another dog, but I’m too selfish to commit to one.
6. I can’t remember the last time I did anything even remotely associated with exercise.
7. When I was 15 and still living in Panama, I stormed out crying during a game of charades when it was my turn to be an armadillo. I didn’t know what one was. Stupidest game EVAH!
8. If any of my favorite Latin beats come on while I’m driving… I dance in my seat.
9. One day I want to sell my photographs.
10. I love it when it’s cold, well, Houston cold. Then I love complaining that it is.

Whew! That was fun in a weird-high pressure kinda way. Now…, who will I bestow the bloggers version of a chain letter to????

I’ll send to a few people I’m dying to know more about.

• Kate at YAWYEOR, she includes what she calls White Trash recipes, so she’s a foodie too.
• RedKathy, because she knows what’s the Essence of Womanhood and I’m dying to find out.
• Casey all the way in Bulgaria.
• Masochist, sorry for the double hit, but you intrigue me!
• Michelle with her 5Forks, because I know we like the same dish towels and cocktail, I’m dying to know what else we have in common.

How ’bout that? I finished!