Over a year ago I wrote about Bee movie and how bees may be small creatures but their contributions to our community make a huge impact. The film I saw with my children was the perfect metaphor to describe how important the contributions are that small businesses make in our economy. Today I had the great …
Our family took its first real vacation in nearly a decade. We traveled to Sevierville, Tennessee (located near Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg) with another family–our very good friends. This spring break getaway was the the most relaxed my husband and I have felt in a year or longer. We rented a cabin in the Smoky …
My family’s budget was tight in the summer of 2013. We had no travel plans. With my children home from school, I strove to make our days feel like a vacation even though we stayed in our community. Beach days and pool time became tiresome. We turned our daily routines of shopping, touring, playing at parks …
I’m going to share funny things my children say from time to time here. Why? 1. Because they really are hilarious, and 2. So I won’t forget them and what they’re like at their current age. ———————————————————————————– Conversations with my Kids: “Butts and Toots – it’s what’s for breakfast!” Last weekend when my family all …
For the past few months my husband has been dabbling in latte art. Technically, if we’re being correct, it’s breve art since our coffee contains cream, not milk. He made everything shown in the above collage. His go-to art is typically designing leaves or hearts. Every now and then he’ll try something completely unique though, …
Not every family has a garden. My lack of knowledge, labor and time has prevented me from starting one. I love the idea of raising livestock in my backyard but I live in a homeowners’ association that does not allow it. Despite those setbacks, eating fresh, local foods is very important to me. Teaching my …
I see a new trend emerging in my area. Well, perhaps it’s not really new at all but it is gaining attention by patrons and news media… There are more and more “gourmet” food truck vendors in my community. Hungry customers are lined up outside them paying over ten dollars for a meal too. Some …
This week is National Library Week. The University of West Florida Library has been hosting a series of special events for students, faculty and staff to be involved in. Since I work on the main campus of UWF, I was paying attention to their festivities. One of their events caught my eye numerous times. They …
There are two kinds of people in this world – those who drink coffee and those who do not. For the first 23 years of my life, I was not a coffee drinker. I attended college before the Starbucks craze, before the Internet was a necessity and way before Facebook was a part of the …
Yesterday I picked up seven dozen eggs from a farmer who lives just a mile down the road from my home. No, it’s not for an Easter-related event or even for a neighborhood picnic potato salad event. It’s simply for my family to eat. We eat or bake our way through about three dozen eggs …