So Long and Thanks for All the (Gold)Fish

So Long and Thanks for All the (Gold)Fish handmade cookie cutters by A Crafty Arab

I have had the privilege of being an officer/organizer in four separate mother's groups in my life as a mommy and have met some amazing women as I've done this.

Apart from being officer, I have also been a participant in a few more.  I was recently asked to name them all and here is a partial list from what I can remember:

Bellevue Eastside Active Moms
Dragonflies and Butterflies
Eastside Cool Mommies
Eastside Mothers Club
Messy Kids, Happy Moms
Sammamish & Redmond Mothers & More
Seattle & Eastside Mothers & More
Sisters of the YaYa Motherhood

On December 31st, this one chapter of my life will be closed on LinkedIn forever as I leave my very last organizing position on ECM, also the last mommy group of which I was still a member.

Its mind boggling to think of all the Mother's Night's Out, Playdates, Hiking Outings, Book Clubs, Movie Nights, Craft Nights, and the thousands of other things I've done as an organizer of moms for the past eleven (!) years.

I wanted to throw a little "retirement" party to help me transition out of my mommy phase.  Now that the girls are older, it's rare that I even get called that anymore, so it was time to move on.

I had named the event as a play on words inspired by So Long and Thanks for All the Fish book by Douglas Adams.

My daughter and I made homemade goldfish crackers for my party, which were the perfect munchies for a night of reminiscing. 

We used the recipe here, and decided to make our own fun shapes out of Diet Coke cans to go along with the theme of the party.  Originally I was going to just buy little shapes, but when I saw how easy it was to make them, we couldn't resist.
The shapes we came up with were round planet, crescent moon, star, and of course goldfish.  We also had a rocket shape, but the dough keep getting caught and it was scrapped. Once you cut a strip all the way around the can, simply shape it, pinch it in place, and tape the ends together!

Here is another photo, sorry it's blurry.  If you look at the fish on the right, you can see the tape. Try to make your pieces connect anywhere other then a corner so that the food doesn't build up and get stuck to the tape.

So Long and Thanks for All the (Gold)Fish handmade cookie cutters by A Crafty Arab

This is what we came up with when we were done.


So Long and Thanks for All the (Gold)Fish handmade goldfish crackers by A Crafty Arab

I had no idea it was easy to make goldfish.  Of course my daughter wants to make them again as the two bowls we made for the party were happily (and quickly) eaten.  We have already decided to use the Asiago or maybe the shredded Mexican blend instead of cheddar cheese.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year and may 2014 also bring you new adventures!