Not A Baa-aa-aad Idea

I like to have fun parties with my friends I lovingly refer to as my SAMmy's Sisters (Strength Among Moms group). Remember the Valentine's party when I posted pictures of the strawberries dipped in pink chocolate that my friend Jocelyn and I made to look like a dozen roses? We made four dozen of those babies for centerpieces for our party and gave them away as door prizes...and before that we called ourselves un-crafty!! Hmpf!
And then there was the "Julie and Julia Party" where about 15 of us SAMmy's Sistas (that's the sassy way of saying "SAMmy's Sisters") got together and made Mystery Soup...we each brought one cup of ingredient for a turkey based soup, but didn't tell each other what we were bringing...and amazingly enough NOBODY duplicated ingredients! It was awesome soup, too. And, we watched Julie and Julia on Melissa's big screen t.v. and had soup, salad, bread and cheesecake and visited. Fun.
Well, now we're getting a long distance SAMmy's Sister involved in a party from a SAMmy's group in a town about 60 miles away. It's an original idea, that's for sure! It's our SAMmy's Sista Jo - one of my Directors of a group in Colfax, WI. She's originally from Kenya - she moved here about 5 years ago. She started a SAMmy's group last year. She's a TON of fun, and met some of our group here from Hudson at the SAMmy's retreat this past April. She wears the traditional African turban thing and dress (forgive me, I don't know what the correct terminology is...) and she has the MOST INTERESTING stories!!! She and her husband have a home on 10 acres and she wants to have a potluck and invite women from our SAMmy's group and their families - so I'm sending out invitations for her. Guess what she's calling it? Goat Fest! I just cracked up. Apparently, she's chosen to serve authentic African food. And the authentic food is...goat. Uh...yum.
Actually, I did a speaking engagement there last week, and unbeknownst to me she was serving Kenyan food. There was goat stew, black beans and chai. Now, I've had chai before, and black beans are regular Mexican fare, right? Well, the chai was unsweetened and VERY spicy. I added sugar and it was actually REALLY YUMMY!!!! The black beans were mushed up with....bananas. Uh...they weren't my favorite, but some people liked them. I'm pretty picky. The stew, though - I was really surprised. It had cilantro or something in it that was really aromatic and yummy. I liked it. Alot. Who knew?
That's when Jo brought up Goat Fest. I kept teasing her, telling her I didn't know whether to be excited or frightened. (She is hilarious, so she can take it.) I will have to take pictures. It will be June 26th. I really can't wait. I wish you all could meet her. She is the best. An amazing woman, for sure.
Anyhow, today I have a picnic with my local SAMmy's Sistas. Just a few. If I remember to take my camera, I'd love for you to meet some of them! We're just meeting for lunch at the park. It's been raining the past few days, and then it's supposed to rain into the weekend beginning tomorrow, so we're celebrating the sunshine. Gotta celebrate while you can.
Hope you find something to celebrate today! Happy Wednesday!