Since I’ve been eating healthier these days, I have been eating apples for snacks. Ellie will stare at me while I eat them. So I started letting her have a couple mini bites. She’ll open her mouth big and then her little teeth will bite in and then she’ll give a big smile. She’ll chew and chew and then ask for another bite. We do this for a while until I finish the apple. Later, Ellie was sitting on my lap and we were playing and talking when she got this look on her face. She was focusing on something on my face. Then she made her make-out face and started to lean in… and bit my cheek… and then gave me a big smile.
THE CIDER MILL RULES
One of the best parts about fall is going to the cider mill. One of my fondest childhood memories was going to the cider mill every year. The cider mill we always went to was Apple Charlie’s. I don’t remember details of what we did there. I just remember we HAD to get donuts and cider. I’m assuming we ate them there and looked around, but I don’t remember the little petting zoo, I don’t remember looking at pumpkins, and I definitely don’t remember the Barn of Blood. But what I do remember is the feeling I had. The trip to the cider mill was a summary of what the fall season was. Everything fall was compiled into one spot with cider and donuts as the stars. The cool crisp fall air, the dry colorful fall leaves, fall jackets, everything imaginable made from apples and pumpkins, fall decorations, fall produce, and polka bands. And now that I have my own family, I’m very excited that I get to show Ellie why the cider mill rules! Continue reading “THE CIDER MILL RULES”
FRIENDS WALK TOGETHER
It had been awhile since I had seen my friend Meghan. We used to be coworkers and worked on a lot of projects together, so we got to be pretty good friends after awhile. When we sat next to each other, every day she would ask me, “do you wanna be friends forever!?” Yes Meghan, that sounds good. Then she would specify, “not BFFs… just FFs. BFF’s would be too crazy.” Right Meghan, that would be too crazy. Meghan is my unique exotic friend. She’s from an exotic country where they eat ketch-up chips, and things named “poutine.” Yes, you guessed it, Meghan is from the Great White North. She’s Canadian. Eh. Meghan was going to be in our friendly country and wanted to come by and visit me and Ellie. We originally had planned on taking a walk down by the river but the weather was cold and rainy. So we did the next best thing, we headed for the mall. I was excited because this would be Meghan’s first mallwalking experience.
FOOD AFFAIR
I have a confession to make. I’ve been having a food affair. I didn’t mean for it to happen. It kind of snuck up on me. It started with my anxiety of being a stay-at-home dad. I’d go through a whole day of Ellie not sleeping and then I’d reward myself with some ice cream, or some chocolate covered almonds. But then it started to escalate. I started wanting anything chocolate, anything sweet. I’d go through a whole jar of peanut butter in 4 days. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I realized I had a real problem. It’s time I come clean, it’s time I get this out in the open. Hi. My name is Matt, and I’ve been having a food affair. Continue reading “FOOD AFFAIR”
NIPS
I love fall. I love everything about fall. I love the cool crisp air. I love the sound of the dry leaves beneath my feet. I love the apple orchard trips filled with apples, pumpkin donuts, and cider. I love carving my Halloween pumpkin. I love watching horror movies. I have a list of movies I try to watch every October. I love the food. The squashes, the apples, the pears, and the pumpkins. Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin donuts, I even developed my own pumpkin meatloaf recipe with a pumpkin gravy. And with me being in charge of the kitchen these days, I’ve never been so excited for a magazine to arrive at my house. I was greatly anticipating the arrival of my Cooking Light magazine. The October issue.