Nieces photo

An Unusual Holiday Season

6 Comments / People, Wellness /

This is the time of year that I usually start scouring food sites and recipes to decide what I’m cooking. The holidays are usually a very busy time for me, as I love to hang with friends, feed people, and entertain. Over the past 5 years, I’ve had to be a little more creative than in the past due to life circumstances. 2020 will prove no different, thanks to COVID-19.

Many of you who know me personally are aware that in 2015, the holiday season took an awful turn. My mother, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer, began to lose her battle just around Thanksgiving.

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Woman with angel wings

Filling Up Your Cup

4 Comments / Lifestyle, Wellness /

Today, I want to talk a bit about self-care. It’s something that is so important to well-being, and I’m sure something that we could all use a little (or a lot) more of, especially these days. In addition to COVID-19 and our political environment, we are all dealing with our everyday lives: work, family obligations, taking care of our homes, and other tasks. While we are so busy tending to all of these things and other people’s needs, we often forget to take care of ourselves. We end up on the back burner and then we end up burned out, sometimes becoming bitter and angry. Well this is to remind you that you can’t pour from an empty cup, so fill that sucker up!

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Here are a few of my favorite things

4 Comments / Gadgets & Equipment, My Kitchen, Opinion /

I may have a slight obsession when it comes to kitchen tools and equipment. Of course, I don’t have everything that I want, but I have most of the things that I need to make cooking and baking a breeze. My Christmas list each year is usually chock full of items for the kitchen. Yes, they are for me, but my family and loved ones get to reap the benefits. I have several things that I love, but in my best Oprah voice, I may have a slight obsession when it comes to kitchen tools and equipment. Of course, I don’t have everything that I want, but I have most of the things that I need to make cooking and baking a breeze.

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Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich

Peanut Butter & Jelly

2 Comments / Lunch, People /

I came up with the idea for this blog post this past week. It was about 5:50am and I was up and in the kitchen, where you can find me every weekday morning at this time. My husband’s alarm for work goes off at 5:40am. He gets up and starts the coffee before he gets ready to start his day. I lie there for a few minutes, internally whining about not wanting to get up, then I drag myself downstairs to make his lunch for the day. I complain about “having” to do this all the time. Truth be told, even though I am far from a morning person, he and I both enjoy spending the first few grumpy minutes of the day together. And, since he had a health scare a few years ago, this is a way that I can ensure that he is not eating garbage for breakfast and lunch.

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Chicken Pot Pie

My Favorite Comfort Foods

Dinner, Recipes /

Comfort Food, is defined by Wikipedia as “food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone and may be characterized by its high caloric nature, high carbohydrate level, or simple preparation. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual, or it may apply to a specific culture.” These are things that I make when it’s cold outside or when life has been rough and you need a hug from the inside.

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CSA Vegetables

What’s A CSA?

Lifestyle, Opinion, Places /

Several years ago, I was having a conversation about food with a fellow foodie and coworker of mine. She mentioned a great recipe that she had for Butternut Squash soup that she would share with me. The recipe came from her CSA when she picked up her weekly vegetable share. I’d never heard of a CSA, so I asked her about it. She explained that CSA stood for Community Supported Agriculture. It was essentially purchasing a share of a farm. You pay one price that entitled you to get a weekly share of the farm’s harvest. I was intrigued to learn about this, and like many things that intrigue me, the thought got buried in the back of my mind.

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Matt & Mary Camping

How I Fell In Love With Camping

6 Comments / Lifestyle, Places /

I live in a house full of boys. They enjoy outdoor things like fishing, hiking, kayaking and such. I’m more of a lie on the beach/sit on the porch/luxury resort kinda girl. When it came to planning adventures, I’m usually outnumbered. About 5 years ago, I decided to indulge the boys and plan a lake trip. I would concede to going to a campground, but I was NOT willing to sleep in a tent. I didn’t want to do it in the Army when I had to, so I sure wasn’t going to pay someone to sleep in a tent. I found a happy compromise and rented a lakeside cottage at Keen Lake, which is about an hour north of our house in Waymart, PA. I was expecting it to be similar to a trip to the Jersey Shore, so I packed up what felt like our whole house and we headed out for a new adventure.

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Why I Joined The Farm to Table Movement

3 Comments / Opinion, Places /

Many of those who know me know that I have become an adamant supporter of the farm-to-table movement. I started on this journey several years ago. Part of it was due to living in a rural community. Our house is literally surrounded by farmland and open fields. During the “season,” I can go around the corner to Juniperdale Farms Produce Crib or up the street to Mike’s Produce and get corn or berries that were picked that same morning. We can get eggs that have been freshly laid. We can get tomatoes by the bushel to make gallons of homemade sauce. In the fall, we drive 2 minutes to go on a hayride and pick pumpkins and gourds right from the field. I wondered why I had not taken advantage of nature’s local bounty more often.

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My Favorite Pinterest Recipes

2 Comments / Dinner, Recipes /

Several years ago, one of my coworkers approached me in the office and asked me if I had heard about this new website called Pinterest. He explained it as an electronic bulletin board where you could “pin” up all kinds of things that interested you. His wife loved it and thought I might want to try it. I was skeptical, but I told him that his wife could send me an invite and I would check it out. Once I logged on, I was hooked. I was pinning things like crazy: home decor ideas, trip ideas, favorite quotes, and of course, recipes.

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Mom’s Cheesecake… Or Was It Dad’s?

Dessert, People, Recipes /

After months of searching, I finally found a cheesecake recipe that I had been searching for. I’m not really sure where this recipe came from. My mom said it was her recipe and my dad said it was his. I do remember that as a kid, Mommy always made it and after their divorce, Daddy would make it when we would visit him. Either way, this is my favorite cheesecake EVER.

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