West Point Market and the Killer Brownie

Bill received a book for Christmas entitled 500 Things To Eat Before It's Too Late by Jane and Michael Stern. We have been reading about unique restaurants and unforgettable food found throughout the United States. We are on a bit of a mission to try as many as we can. Some, by chance, we have already partaken of but others call our name! Last weekend the Killer Brownie from West Point Market in Akron, Ohio called our name!

Since Anna's gymnastic meet was near Akron we decided to stay in the area and locate the market. I was a little apprehensive about how much I was going to enjoy it. After all, we do have the legendary Jungle Jim's Market nearby and since I go there about once a week I was worried that there would be no thrill to this store. Other than the hopes of retrieving a "killer brownie" of course!! Boy, was I wrong. This store was unique and gourmet and fun!! Their food displays were cute and inviting and delicious! Cheese! Who could resist with Wallace and Gromit telling us to help ourselves!!

The store tastefully mixed areas of food with areas for kitchenware and seasonal displays. Above is Anna looking at Easter decorations and a how to book on making fancy colored eggs. I could have spent hours looking over the kitchenware!!
West Point Market also has a website www.westpointmarket.com. So if you are not in the Akron area any time soon you can still order that "killer brownie" and have it delivered right to your door. It would definitely be worth it. The caramel oozing out of the chocolate was awesome!! We also recommend the double fudge brownie and the cheesecake brownie. Next trip, I try the Blarney Stones (bourbon balls)!!

State Champions!!

A big congratulation to the CGA level 10 gymnastic team for winning the State Championship!! We are all very proud of this group of girls. They faced quite a few challenges this year that would have defeated many but this group persevered in mind, body and spirit and triumphed!! Great Job Acacia, Allie, Khadijah, Mary, Kayla and Anna!!

Trader Joe's and an Easter Tip!!!

I have a confession.....I do love me some Trader Joe's. But before any of you start thinking I am a total health food nut I thought I should add one of my favorite pictures to this post. Below shows that I am a firm believer in balance. A trip to Trader Joe's and then lunch at Johnny Rockets - perfect day! Trader Joe's is a mini field trip. While browsing the aisles you can munch on samples, and guess what, no annoying sample ladies!! And you can always get a cute little cup of coffee - for free!! Even more exciting is that you can put real organic HALF and HALF in your little cup of coffee!! A delight!! But my all time favorite thing to buy at Trader's is a floral bouquet and at Easter they have an awesome assortment.

Trader Joe's flowers are the best! They offer a bunch of unique and different arrangements and the flowers last forever!!

There are so many offered that it is really hard to choose. So, I suggest that you go and get your little cup of coffee first and then browse the floral aisle.

After picking out your flowers you'll want to look around the store. I can suggest the very healthy cage free eggs and the ever so healthy cereal, Joe's Fiber Os. But I highly recommend the dark chocolate blueberries, the peanut butter pretzels, the chocolate chip dunkers, the ginger cat cookies, the pecan pralines and the dark chocolate covered raspberry jellies.

Balance. Balance is the key.

Newport Aquarium

Once you take your kids to an aquarium they form a type of addiction. Ever since last years visit to the Virginia Beach Aquarium Anna has been dropping little hints to visit the one right in our own backyard. Well, right down I75, anyway. My only reservation has been the cost of those darn aquariums. I know, it must cost a fortune to keep them up and running, but $22 dollars for a one time adult admission hurts a little bit. Good thing they offered a senior discount for Grams and Gramps - $21 each. Gee. I think I will send a little note to the aquarium about being a little more senior friendly!!

We had a great time despite the admission fee. Just look at Gram's face in the above picture!! Pure joy at feeding the lorikeets in the Rainforest Exhibit! We call her "The Bird Whisperer". I think we will put her out by the hummingbird feeder this summer and see if she gets one to land on her finger!! Thank you Gramps for buying the bird food. Maybe next time it will be included in the price of admission! After Anna got over the fear of being pooped upon she really enjoyed this. By far I think this was Gram's favorite but Anna's favorite was the Shark Touch Pool. We had visited other aquariums with stingray touch tanks but this was fun and unique. They gave a little lesson about the two finger touch system and then we were free to pet away. The only thing we had to watch out for was the spitting shark. Picture below. He was pretty funny!

All the exhibits at the Newport Aquarium were very well done. The jellyfish were awesome and the frog bog was pretty cool, too. We were slightly disappointed in the penguin parade. I guess we thought that the penguins would be walking in the parade and not riding in a wagon. Bad assumption on my part! If I had thought about it more, letting those little penguins walk on their own would mean a lot of clean up for some poor aquarium worker.

So, final review. Definitely save up some money and head to the Newport Aquarium. Your family will have a great time exploring. Since our daughter is aquarium addicted... I think we may have to include aquarium costs in our yearly family budget.

My Kids Have Changed Me!

I have done a lot of growing up over the last 22 years. I look back on my life before kids and realize that I was a kid back then, too, even though I was 25 years old!! All three kids have changed me for the better and much of that change has come from each of their unique personalities.
Anna is the youngest and the youngest by 6 years. She has an incredible sense of adventure and is always ready to "get up and go". I have really made an effort over the past few years to embrace this part of Anna's personality. I admit that, by nature, I am a lazy person. I would, more often than not, choose to curl up by the fire or in front of the computer than to romp around outside in 20 degree weather. Anna has changed me and thank goodness she has. As I get older I am grateful that she invites me to share in her adventures. Keeps my mind and body active!!

Christian is the middle child and as I have mentioned before the "free spirit". Christian is so laid back that I don't even think the word "stress" is in his vocabulary. He lives in the moment and enjoys every moment. He's secure in knowing that God has a plan for his life and he is more than happy to enjoy the ride. Chris has shown me how to let go a little bit more with my life....worry less, embrace more. Thanks, Buddy!

Bethany is the oldest. The boss and protector. The second mom. And I don't use those titles in a bad way. She is loved by her siblings and respected by her mom.

She has taught me to embrace knowledge. I admit that I am the type of person, when needing to find an answer, will take the lazy way out and just ask someone else. Beth loves to find information and absorb it; which is rare with young people these days. I am grateful that over the years she has given me the desire to read more and to write more and to share more. She is a smart girl and I want to be a smart girl, too!

Thanks, Bethany, Christian and Anna. You have taught me well.

Show Some Love - Sweet Love!!

I love sweetened condensed milk. Versatile tastiness should be its name.

Today I will share two "show some extra love" tips that involve this tasty treat that comes in the "oh so cute" 14 ounce can.

If you have a coffee lover in your house who likes their java a little sweet replace the sugar with the sweetened condensed milk (SCM). My friend, Deb, who grew up in Africa, shared this little gem of an idea with me. Thank you, Deb. You are a true friend.

This weekend I will add some to Kind Sir Bill's mug and he will feel very much loved (just as a note, he likes his coffee a little creamier, so I add a bit of half and half also.) Nothing says "extra love" to a coffee drinker more than SCM and half and half!!!!

My next tip will show some love to all the crafty painters in your household. Take a look at the heart painting below. This my friend was painted with, yes..believe me....Sweetened Condensed Milk!!

Open a can of SCM and divide it into four or five different bowls. Add some food coloring to each bowl (Anna used neon colors). Begin painting. The end result is shiny and puffy and dries like plastic. The paint is very tasty but there is one warning. Your tongue may be neon colored for the rest of the day!!!

Have some fun and definitely share any Sweetened Condensed Milk secrets with me!!!

Show Some Love - Celebrations!!

This is a picture of my calendar last March. This is how I keep track of all of the important meetings, events, holidays and so on for our family. No new-fangled electronic devices for me. No daily planners. Just a hang-up calendar that I get for half price after the new year begins!!! Just give me some coordinating stickers for each month and I am a happy camper!!

Many people comment on my calendar. They like the festive look. I admit some have asked when I will grow up and ditch the stickers........never. Just another way for me to keep daily life festive. And that is my tip today for "showing your family a lotta love" - Be Festive!!!

Everyone looks forward to holidays and I am not trying to down play the biggies at all. I want to encourage you to celebrate the little known holiday. You might want to let your family in on the celebrations before hand or just surprise them out of the blue. You may want to do something grand with food or just something simple to celebrate.

What kind of days can be celebrated????? Here are a few examples:

• February 5 Bubble Gum Day
• February 7 Daytona Pole Day
• February 9 Read in the Bathtub Day
• February 15 Susan B. Anthony Day
• February 23 Curling is Cool Day
• February26 Levi Strauss Day
• February 28 Tooth Fairy Day

The possibilities are amazing!! My personal fave - Curling is Cool Day!

You might think that the kiddos would be the only ones interested in such holidays. Not in my family. Kind Sir Bill is always interested in mindless trivia and the more I can fill his brain with little tidbits such as these lesser known holidays the better. You see one day he will be playing some trivia game with a bunch of friends.....the question will be......when is Bubble Gum Day celebrated? Kind Sir Bill will triumph with the answer and do you know why? Because I cared enough to show a little extra love!!!