Oh Snap! Mother's Day Recap

Mother's Day has come and gone, and everyone and everything is back to usual around here as in someone needs help with this, someone needs a ride there, and someone (oh, that would be!) needs to prepare that for dinner! All in all it was a pleasant Mother's Day. I did not have to cook, I received some thoughtful and useful gifts, and I had the chance to relax a bit on a Sunday afternoon. Sometimes the day can be overrated as far as holidays go, but all and all it was a good day. Here's a recap:

2. Good eats!

T and Miss O baked some homemade scones for breakfast, and there were leftovers for me to enjoy for the rest of the week too! T also made dinner - a shrimp, tomato, and orzo dish, and a homemade chocolate cream pie for dessert. The pie was quite tasty, much different than this chocolate "fruit" pie Brian posted on his FB page the other day.

3.Good gifts from the heart! Cards and stories from the kids, and a really sweet necklace made by Miss O. I proudly wore it to church that morning, and the next day too.

1. The two best reasons to celebrate the day! Without these precious gifts from God, I would not be a mom today. OK, T had a little bit something to do with it!

You might be wondering what Brian did on Mother's Day (Hopefully, he called his mom) He visited a brand new mommy! His good friends welcomed an adorable bundle of joy earlier in the week. Congratulations ~ welcome to the wonderful world of parenthood!

Short and Sweet (weekend-y good things)

For today's post, I am getting right down to business with three good happenings from our busy and tiring weekend.

2. Homemade banana bread. I left a recipe for quick and easy banana bread on the counter the other day. T gave it a go Saturday morning. It was quick and easy, and tasty, too. I just gobbled up the last piece for breakfast today.

3. Birthday sleepover. O turned 11 last week, so we hosted her first ever sleepover party for her and five friends. With the help of my sister J and her friend Miss L., the party turned out fabulous as did the chocolate "fun" due! Yummy!

1. 15 seconds of fame. Pie lovers T and I made the editing cut on the Cooking Channel's For the Love of Pie show. T is ordering pie, I'm stuffing my face with my favorite - the chocolate cream, and we both are exclaiming how creamy, and good it is at Hoosier Mama Pie Co. in Chicago. Check the TV listings here so you can catch the show, but don't blink or you will miss us!

Ciou for now, here's hoping your weekend was full of fun and tasty happenings, too!

It's My Birthday

My three birthday good things:

2) Pie

Blueberry or Cherry
Cake... take a walk!

3) Family, Friends and Facebook
How do I give you a picture of my family and my friends in one shot. I can't. For years and years my friends were my family, and now my family are my friends. It's pretty awesome. Thank you, to each and every one of you! Those of you that I only know because of Facebook... you too!

1) The Beatles - Birthday

Not that I'm some huge Beatle-Maniac or something. I like the song.

You say it's your birthday
It's my birthday too, yeah
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.

Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party

I would like you to dance (Birthday)
Take a cha-cha-cha-chance (Birthday)
I would like you to dance (Birthday)
Dance

I would like you to dance (Birthday)
Take a cha-cha-cha-chance (Birthday)
I would like you to dance (Birthday)
Dance

You say it's your birthday
Well it's my birthday too, yeah
You say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.

Birthday good things!

Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday, dear Brian.
Happy Birthday to you!

I could have said, "You smell like a monkey and you look like one to!' but that would not have been a very good thing to say to a dear friend on his birthday.

I also cannot make fun of how old Brian is today because I'm seven months and four days older than him.

I can, however, note three good things about having a birthday.

Starting with a quote from the birthday boy himself:

1. "Never forget Sue, birthdays are good for you. The more you have the longer you live." A very good thing indeed.

2. Dessert. Usually a birthday cake, but I do know that Brian prefers pie. If he didn't live in another time zone, I would treat him to a slice of pie in honor of his special day. And maybe a cup of coffee, too. I've served cake, ice cream, pie, giant cookies, and even cream puffs for birthday treats. A birthday dessert is a good thing no matter what your preference, no?

3. Presents. As a kid, a birthday present is a must-have. As an adult, perhaps a present is not as important. However, it's still a good thing especially when it's thoughtful, unique, and something you would not normally buy for yourself.

Very much like this post . . . which, by the way Brian, is your gift. Enjoy!

Toledo Good Eats

One of the best parts of being on a road trip is finding good eats, and finding them off the beaten path without a GPS is even more fun and challenging. Not really, but we enjoyed some good food at these three places in Toledo last week.

1. Schmucker's. Not much to look at, but this 63-year-old diner served up heaping helpings of homemade goodness including one of our favorite desserts P I E!


The kids under the Schmucker's road sign. A enjoys chicken and biscuits. Coconut cream pie! T's Wimpy burger platter.


2. The original Tony Packo's. This place came highly recommended by Brian, who appears to be a connoisseur of fine hot dogs everywhere. Although I skipped the chili and the special hot dog sauce, the hot dog had a snappy, tasty bite.


And where else can you get a hot dog with a side of mashed potatoes or a chili dog with a side of chili? Extra touch: celebrity-signed hot dogs buns displayed all over the walls. T even got a souvenir beer glass, and Miss O licked her mac and cheese bowl clean. Now that's good eats!

3. Deet's BBQ - located south of Toledo in Maumee. We stopped at this restaurant on our way out of town. Yummy, tender pulled pork sandwiches with sweet BBQ sauce and creamy coleslaw. We loved the sauce so much we bought a pint to take home, and had it on some baby back ribs the other night. Messy, yummy goodness!



Homemade goodness, highly-recommended hot dogs, and sweet, delicious BBQ - three good road trip eats!

Spoonfuls of sugar

Since I'm a person living with a chronic illness, I often have the "pleasure" of meeting with one of my many doctors or undergoing various medical tests. I'm usually not that happy about this aspect of my life, but I do try to make the best of a situation that is beyond my control.

Today I will focus on three good things about my most recent medical visit.

1. My all-time best friend in the whole wide world accompanied me to my appointment. That would be my dear husband, let's call him T. I like when T comes along. He drives through nasty traffic, he carries things, he talks like Forrest Gump to make me laugh, and he provides much needed support and comfort.

2. I didn't have to complete a test that I didn't want to do in the first place. I was scheduled to have a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPX.) In other words, I would have been walking really fast on a treadmill while hooked up to a bunch of machines and stuff. In a nutshell, my docs wanted to see how my heart works while exercising. However, the test protocol was above and beyond my capabilities, so my doc said I didn't have to do it! Yippee!

3. After my visit, T and I went for pie. Not just any run of the mill pie, but pie from our favorite shop - Hoosier Mama Pie Company. Hoosier Mama Pies are all homemade, both sweet and savory, and so delish! (In your face Bri, lover of pie!) I had my all-time favorite - the chocolate cream. T had buttermilk, and we shared a spinach, mushroom, and goat cheese pie. As a bonus, a Food Network crew was on hand when we were there! We were asked to be taped and interviewed for an upcoming pie show. Hopefully, we will not end up on the cutting room floor. Way cool!

So my guy, no difficult test, and yummy pie - three spoonfuls of sweet things!

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!