The Big Rig Macaw and Owner, Larry St. Patrick’s Day is the birthday of a very special Harlequin Macaw named Muggsy. Happy 32nd Birthday, Muggsy! Muggsy travels in a big rig with his owner, Larry whom my husband Greg met at a truck stop in Texas. Greg mentioned to Larry that I’m a blogger and asked if I could call him, and he agreed. Fascinated about this beautiful bird my husband met, I contacted Larry and learned about the amazing Muggsy. I had read about macaws and already had a list of questions of things I was curious about, including these: “Larry, does Muggsy screamRead More →

Healthy Easter Treats What treats can you make your grandchildren when their parents have put them on a strict diet – one without sugar? Many children and adults are required to maintain a diet without sugar all of the time, every day of their lives. It’s like a culture shock for a person used to eating sweets to change over to a healthy way of eating without sugar. But imagine if everyone agreed to live without sugary foods. That would change everything, wouldn’t it? How would candy, bread, dessert, and everything-else-loaded-with-sugar-in-it companies make it? They would close their doors. I love sweets, and so doesRead More →

Corned Beef, Sauerkraut, and Rye Bread Is it the corned beef, rye bread, or sauerkraut that makes a Reuben sandwich Irish? If you research the history of the Reuben sandwich, you’ll learn that it originated in New York City when it was invented by German immigrant Arnold Reuben. Neither corned beef or sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) is a popular food in Ireland. You can, however, find organic rye bread there. Irish immigrants to America substituted corned beef for pork because it was less expensive. So if you’re planning a trip to Ireland and hope to enjoy the best Irish Reuben sandwiches everywhere, you should probably countRead More →

Raw Veggies Grilled Meat and Veggies Time changes tonight already, and spring will arrive soon. Know what that means? Time to bring the grilling gear out. In my household, we don’t wait for weather temperatures to go way high before grilling. In fact, this afternoon my hubby grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, onions, and mixed veggies for dinner (we like to grill extra so there will be plenty of leftovers). The aroma of those wood chips on the burning coals – AH! In my household, we don’t wait for weather temperatures to go way high before grilling. In fact, this afternoon my hubby grilled hamburgers, hotRead More →

Salsa with Sweet and Spice Salsa amazes me. There are so many to choose from at the supermarkets. I like to look at the varieties when I go on road trips across the country. Individuals and food companies have special secret ingredients. I’ll let you in on a secret. I have my own secret salsa recipes. How it works is I come up with certain vegetables, spices, and herbs to make the recipe and forget to write it down. My husband loves salsa, and I make it often for him. One ingredient added or left out can complete When I try salsa that friends haveRead More →

Beat Stress with Lavender NOTE: This post contains an affiliate link or links to Doterra Essential Oils which means if you click on it and make a purchase, I make a commission. This doesn’t cost you anything additional. These commissions help to keep the rest of my content free, so thank you! Comfort of Food Comfort food makes me happy. It doesn’t make me feel helpless if I don’t have it. To make it simple, I can do without chocolate most of the time. But there are those times that chocolate hits the perfect mark on my comfort list. Food is only one item onRead More →

Fun Free Short Stack Breakfast at IHOP Did you get your free pancakes at IHOP today? I did. Couldn’t resist. Of course, you figured that out if you’ve been reading my blog. I LOVE pancakes. Lately, I’ve been on a blueberry kick, too. Blueberries and pancakes go together well. So it’s no wonder that when I met my blogging friend at IHOP for the Short Stack, I added the blueberry syrup.Read More →

Blueberries for Breakfast NOTE: This post contains an affiliate link which means if you click on it and make a purchase, I make a commission. This doesn’t cost you anything additional. These commissions help to keep the rest of my content free, so thank you! Blueberry Nutrition Blueberries are perennial flowering plants and have excellent nutritional value to begin the day with. One cup of blueberries has 85 calories, 0.5 g fat, 1 mg sodium, 114 mg potassium, 21 g carbohydrates, 3.6 g fiber, 15 g sugar, and 1.1 g protein. You can eat a light breakfast of blueberries and yogurt with a hot cupRead More →

Stir Fry Veggies How to Make Veggies the Easy Way Choose all the vegetables that you want to cook for meals for the day. Prepare them – cut, chop, dice. Get the electric griddle out, plug it in, and turn it to about 300 degrees. Take about two tablespoons of organic coconut oil and melt it on the griddle. Now add all the veggies to the griddle, season them with salt and garlic powder and any other seasoning you like, cook them on one side for 3-5 minutes, turn them over and cook for another few minutes. That’s it. Easy. Simple. For Breakfast Now thatRead More →

 Easter History of Easter Easter will be here in 4 weeks – the last Sunday of March. Why does Easter fall on different dates every year? The date of Easter is determined by the Ecclesiastical Full Moon table. The table was able to be established because astronomers could determine approximate dates of future full moons. Therefore, in Western Christianity the date of Easter is the first Sunday after the Paschal (Passover) Full Moon which is the first Eccleasistical Full Moon after March 20. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ happened after the Jewish Passover, so the early believers of the Asia Minor church wantedRead More →