Good Photo Fun for When You're Feeling Bad

Oh my goodness! It's been forever since I've posted on this here blog. That's a bad thing but not as bad as the shingles which had me down for the count for more than two months with horrible pain, terrible itching, and extreme fatigue. Yikes! Thankfully, it's just about resolved and spring is finally here!

Besides sleeping and watching bad daytime TV, I kept myself busy wasted time during my home confinement by surfing the net on my iPad (love that good thing!) Yep, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram and more right at my fingertips!

What kind of entertaining things did I find out there on the World Wide Web? Photos of course! Lots and lots of photos - some good, some bad, and some ugly. Some funny, serious, or stupid. Many photos made me shake my head in disbelief, while others made me smile for a moment when I really didn't feel like it.

Since smiling is supposed to be good for you, I encourage you to check out these three types of photos if you need a little bit of "cheerapy." Yes, I just made that word up. If you disagree with my choices, no worries. There's something for everyone out there.

 2. Animals and pets: While I'm not that fond of cats, I do enjoy cute pictures of pups. I also enjoy photos and captions from Casey's Safe Haven, a rescue shelter where my friend Barb volunteers to help horses, ponies, and dogs. Another fun Facebook page to check out is The Daily Puppy, shared by my friend Ronda.

3. Food glorious food: Need I say more? I'm guilty of posting foodie photos myself like this huge breakfast I enjoyed for my birthday a couple years back. Yum!

1. Babies and kids: I'm not just talking about photos of my cute kids or those of friends and family, but adorable snapshots of children from all over the world. Precious!

* Bonus good thing: If you like to people watch but you're like me and sometimes need to do so from the comfort of your couch, check out
Humans of New York., it's a creative site with awesome photography and interesting people. HONY is on Facebook too!

Good Things Readers: Do you have fun, family-friendly photos you would like to share? Let us know in the comments section and will be in touch with the details. Thanks!

SpaghettiOs are Good, no?

When you have kids, you often end up eating what they eat. Case in point, last week Miss O and her lil bro A wanted SpaghettiOs for lunch. I heated up two cans just to be sure I had enough to fill each Thermos but as luck would have it, there were some SpaghettiOs left for me to eat with bread and butter later that day. Yum-O - one of my childhood favorites! When I was a kid, I would pile the Os and the sloppy tomato sauce on top of the bread then fold it over to make a messy sandwich of sorts. (Yep, I still do this as an adult) It's funny how a simple lunch can stir up happy memories from back in the day. After gobbling up my SpaghettiOs, I wanted all the world to know about it so I posted this on my Facebook status:

I ate one of my favorite childhood lunches today - spaghettios with bread and butter! I know, weird . . . what's one of your favorite lunches from your childhood?

Lo and behold, several FB friends contributed some fun responses to my question, which is a good thing because I'm pretty sure most people don't give a hoot about what I'm eating for lunch day to day. Then, my friend Rick suggested I write about this very topic for my blog, so here goes nothing!

Interestingly enough, I discovered that as kids, and most likely as adults too, my friends and I enjoy eating food from these three groups:

2. Dairy . . . Cheese, butter, milk
3. Grains . . . Bread, pasta, macaroni
1. Processed protein . . . Hot dogs, bologna (and yes, I sing the Oscar Mayer jingle in my head to spell bologna, don't you?), ham, and other deli meats

OK, I know what you're thinking. Hmmm . . . many of those foods are not so good for you. I agree, but they're tasty and nostalgic. Take this comment from a guy named Brian A., perhaps you know him?

Peanut butter and pickle (dill slices), a banana, and chocolate milk

Now I'm not sure if he meant a peanut butter and pickle sandwich, but I do agree that chocolate milk and pickles make a surprisingly delicious combo. Especially if you made the chocolate milk with PDQ like we did as kids.

What did everyone else have to say? I will tell you right now. Yes, way!

• Ham and butter sandwich - Carrie D.
• Macaroni and cheese with sliced hot dogs or tomato soup with chunks of cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches - Sarah H.
• SpaghettiOs and cut up hot dogs, tomato soup and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich - Rick M.
• Minced ham on fresh white bread with American cheese - Juli T.
• Tomato soup with popped popcorn in it! And toasted cheese... open face cheese on bread in oven - Ronda M.
  
• Hot dogs and beans....and a chicken noodle concoction you could get in a glass jar....it was yummy - Leanne S.
• Hamburger helper cheeseburger macaroni with lettuce, raw onions and tomatoes diced up on top! - Maria G.
• Bologna and cheese sandwich, Guys plain chips, and a grape soda packed in my Snoopy lunch box and eaten outside on a blanket - Connie M.
  
  Pam B. shared her thoughts about SpaghettiOs with bread and butter:

  My mom used to make me that for lunch all the time!

  Well, of course she did!
  
  Thanks to all my friends who unknowingly contributed to this post. Let's do lunch soon, darlings!
  

Oh Snap! Father's Day Food Fest

My hubby T, super dad to our two awesome children, did not want anything for Father's Day. He had just one request for his special day: homemade deep dish pizza. He refused my offer to take him downtown for Pizzeria Uno pizza, his favorite. Too crowded, too much traffic, too expensive. He gave me all the excuses, so I gave in. Then, he suggested we take a trip to the Elburn Market for fresh Italian sausage for said pizza, and here's where the Father's Day food fest begins.

One does not make a special trip to a quality meat market and leave with just Italian sausage. Oh no! There's pork chops, ground beef, chicken, deli meats, and of course, steak - t-bone steaks. Change of menu? Nope! Because he is such a great father and loving husband, T had his deep dish pizza, and ate his steak too. And there were muffins - not store bought, not from a mix - homemade raspberry muffins accompanied by his fav hot beverage: chai tea latte. We are the best wife and kids ever! Well, at least in our minds we are.

So here in photos, is the Father's Day Food Fest featuring three good meals which actually started on Saturday night with . . .

2. Homemade deep dish sausage and mushroom pizza







3. Made-from-scratch raspberry muffins for Sunday's breakfast







1. T-Bone steak dinner with baked potatoes, grilled veggies, baked beans, and salad with fresh lettuce from our garden, with a Leine's Summer Shandy











Oh, let's not forget dessert - ice cream from Brenda's Frozen Custard in nearby Sandwich, IL. There's always room for dessert!





               Please pass the Tums.

The Cure for the Summertime Blues

Are you ready folks? It's that time again, Friday's good things list of lists day!

With the kids already headed back to school, and the stores stocking up on Halloween candy and what-not, summer is sadly drawing to a close. Now, I know you purists out there will say summer's not over to the official start of fall on September such and such, but let's face it - It's over!

So today our list of lists features S U M M E R! Let's begin . . .

Good songs with the word "summer" in them:

Sue

1. Summer Nights (Grease)
2. Hot Fun in the Summertime (Sly and the Family Stone)
3. The Boys of Summer (Don Henley)

Brian

2) Summertime (DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince)
3) Summer of Love (John Mellencamp)
1) Summer Wind (Frank Sinatra)









Good foods to eat in the summer which may not be as tasty at other times of the year:

Sue

1. Seedless watermelon
2. Fresh sweet corn
3. Lemon Italian ice


Brian

2) Peaches
3) Fudge sicles
1) Bratwurst

Good activities to do in the summer, but not during other seasons especially where we live:

Sue

1. Visiting the beach
2. Catching fireflies, then letting them go
3. Roasting marshmallows to make S'Mores

Brian

2) Swimming/water parks
3) Softball
1) Street Fairs

Show us some summer lovin' and share your good thoughts about summer. Come on, we know you can do it!

Flashback Fun

When Brian and I recently got together, we reminisced a bit about our high school days, even taking a look at our yearbooks from the early 80s. With that in mind, this week's list of lists feature good things from way back when.

Fashions we thought were a good idea at the time

Sue

1. Wool sweaters with button-down oxfords underneath.
2. Polo shirts with the collars turned up especially those with the crocodile (alligator?) logo.
3. Blazers with shoulder pads.


Brian

2) Hawaiian Shirts (well... they NEVER go out of style)
3) Parachute Pants
1) Scrubs




Fabulous Cafeteria Food

Sue

1. Tator tots - can’t go wrong with crispy, fried potato nuggets!
2. Pizza slices - provided you blotted the grease off the top with a napkin before eating.
3. Chocolate chip cookies - freshly half-baked from the oven, all warm and gooey.

Brian

2) Sliders (imported from White Castle)
3) Chocolate pudding
1) Huge glazed donuts (seriously, they were as big as my head)


Marvelous marching band (because that’s where we met after all)

Sue

1. Week-long overnight band camp amidst the cornfields of Sycamore, IL. Boys on one side of the gym, girls on the other.
2. Passes out of study hall to go practice hang out in the band room.
3. Road trips to places near and far for competitions, parades, and performances. Places like downstate Illinois, Mexico (by plane), and Walt Disney World.

Brian

2) Saw my first rated R movie at band camp - The Blues Brothers
3) We made a record! Pretty cool, eh? (at right)
1) Bus sing-alongs!

Fashion, Food, Fun. What are your good memories from high school?

Good Weekend Happenings

Company is coming!

It was a busy, but fun, summer weekend at the Borowiak household this past week in preparation for a visit from an out of town guest. Not just any guest, but resident good guy and funny man, Brian Atkinson. Yes, THE Brian Atkinson who took some time out of his "Eating My Way Across the USA" road trip to stop in our neck of the woods to meet the fam!

*This pic of us cracks me up. Oh, Brian, you're so . . . goofy!

Mr. A not only brought a big smile and lots of laughs, he brought ingredients for his famous guacamole recipe! Yippee! Guac is one of my most all-time favorite things to eat so when I heard he had a famous recipe, I made him make it! And just like a Food Network star he whipped up a batch in my humble kitchen just for me! For the record, I did share.

Besides tasty guacamole and chips, the weekend was filled with many other good eats, drinks, and entertainment.

1. More good eats: Because Brian likes to eat, and so do we, after snacks and sangria at the homestead, we all piled into the Subaru to treat Brian to some delicious homemade enchiladas at a nearby church festival followed by fab frozen custard for dessert. We also gave him an "exciting" tour of where we live as in there's some corn on your left, soybeans on your right.

2. Can you canoe? T's been thinking about buying a canoe, so for a trial run, we headed out to Starved Rock State Park so he and the kids could take a paddle down the Illinois River. While they rolled down the river, I relaxed on the shore listening to tunes on my iPod. After their canoe trip, we went up to lodge to have a cool drink on the patio. I had a Blue Moon - a refreshing drink for a summer's afternoon

3. Tim-isms. T always keeps me and the kids laughing. Here are a few silly quotes from him from Sunday's trip to Starved Rock.

While he's acting goofy on the lodge patio:
Me: I wish I had a video of this. T: You just need to keep a camera on me at all times. Me: I don't have enough batteries for that!

After making a pit stop on the way home. A neon sign at the BP station/Jimmy Johns advertises "Free Smells." T goes in to use the facilities. Me: Did you get a free smell? T: Holy Crap! I thought an outhouse smelled bad!

One of his many thoughts on canoeing with the kids: "You don't realize how small their butts are until you see them sitting on that big canoe seat!" As he is speaking, he's making hand gestures to illustrate his point. Too funny!



Ah, summer weekends . . . good friends, food, and fun!

Road Trip

This week I'm taking a road trip.


I'm taking my vacation to visit friends in Chicago and West Michigan. As if road trips weren't good on their own, I have a few "good things about road trips" to share.

2) Road trip music. I used to make mix-tapes, then CDs, now I make iTunes playlists. It's really fun to listen to music that I thought would go with the scenery. Along with those - audio books. I'm gonna get smarter while I'm driving!

3) Road trip food. I love to eat, but I try to stay away from fast food and junk most of the time. The exception to that rule is road trips. Those require foolish food choices. I don't mean "foolish" as in, you spend the remainder of the road trip in a filthy gas station commode, I mean things that aren't necessarily good for you.

1) Road trip friends. First, I'm going to visit friends (like Sue and her family) - but it's also a great time to catch up with friends on the phone (headset of course!).

All good things!

Random Good Stuff: Sue/Brian

It's Friday. Let's have some fun!

Here are three good things on three different topics brought to you by two good friends.

Three good names for real-life bands

Sue

1. Death Cab for Cutie
2. My Morning Jacket
3. Plain White T's

Brian

2) Barenaked Ladies
3) The Power Station
1) Jump 'N The Saddle Band

Three good foods for kids that I sometimes eat as an adult

Sue

1. Kraft Mac and Cheese
2. Spaghetti O's
3. Goldfish Crackers

Brian

2) Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch
3) Quick
1) Chicken fingers

Three words that are fun to say out loud

Sue

1. Hootenanny
2. Honkin'
3. Anemone

Brian

2) Shenanigans
3) Crikey
1) Persnickety

Thanks to Sue for coming up with the lists!
What are some of yours?

Brian Food

I love food. I love to eat. I even write a whole other Brian-Food blog about that. Sue even asks me what I have for lunch every day with her little acronym, WAL (What About Lunch?). Today, my three good things are food.

1) Bacon. Seriously, bacon is fantastic. Bendy, crispy, crumbled, chunked, sliced and in bits - it's all good.

2) Pie. I would rather have a pie anytime over cake. Birthday cake? How come cake gets that spot? Pie is simply superior.

3) Coca-Cola. It's the real thing, the pause that refreshes, nectar of the gods!

mmmm - good things!