Discussion

When I was growing up, going out to eat was a huge treat because it was something my family rarely ever did. I’m sure I could count on one hand the number of times we went out for dinner before I was ten years old, and that is not an exaggeration. We hardly even went out to eat on vacation. There was, however, a period of a few years when my dad did a lot of traveling, and when he was gone for several days at a time, my brother and I could sometimes expect a meal at Subway. This was very exciting for us. To this day, I still enjoy Subway because it seemed so magical when I was a kid.

Every once in a while when Dad was gone, my mom would skip Subway and spring for the Old Country Buffet. We would meet our friends there, whose dad also traveled, and make an evening of it. It was a big restaurant, and we always went on a weeknight, so the staff was happy to let us spend a couple hours playing cards in the corner while our moms talked.

Does anyone remember the all-you-can-eat buffets that were so wildly popular in the United States? My mom might be embarrassed to admit that she actually took us there, but we loved it. The mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and buttery rolls were something special to a 10-year-old kid. It was a miracle that we never got food poisoning. That might be because we preferred the carbs over the meat. For dessert, we were allowed to hit up the soft serve ice cream machine and choose an additional treat. Now THAT was living.

Based on the small amount of research I just did, Old Country Buffet and OldTown Buffet are no longer in operation. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen a similar restaurant in years. And our country is probably better for it. Do you remember when buffets were popular?

We are settling into life with three children and enjoying this stage. Our daughter (what do you think of the nickname Little Lady?) was our smallest baby. She was born at 39 weeks and weighed 7 lbs 5 oz.

Our first son, Little Buddy, arrived very close to his due date and weighed 8 lbs 12 oz. Our second son, Littlest Buddy, was 8 lbs 13 oz but was about a week and a half early. If he had been born on his due date, he could have easily been over 9 lbs. With that information in mind, I was nervous that our daughter would be even bigger.

My midwife told me that subsequent children are often bigger and that while girls tend to be smaller, that is not always the case. Thankfully, the ultrasound that I had the week before delivery showed Little Lady to be a very average size. The birth was easier as a result, even though her head was on the larger size (thank you, genetics!)

If you are a parent, how big were your children at birth?

When we went down to Gulf Shores, Alabama, last fall, we visited a festival. It was your typical festival, complete with music, food, and craft booths. But one booth was selling something that didn’t seem like the type of thing you would typically see at a festival (or anywhere, for that matter). Framed taxidermy bats. I mean, who would buy one of those?

The tent also had other framed decorations, like snake skins, beetles, moths, and animal skulls. I got out of there as quickly as I could. Have any of you seen that kind of thing for sale? Or do you happen to know anyone who decorates their home with such things?

There is nothing quite as comforting as a warm mug of hot chocolate on a snowy winter day. While we were snowed in for several days this week, our family indulged heavily in this winter treat. But there are many ways to make hot chocolate, and I am curious to know how you make yours.

One hard and fast rule for us is that we always use milk as a base. Water is just not creamy enough for our tastes. My go-to hot chocolate is straight cocoa powder with no sugar. I like the bitter taste and would prefer not to feel lethargic after drinking too much sugar. For Little Buddy, I take mine and thin it down with cold milk so it isn’t too hot. And if it’s a special day, he gets marshmallows and possibly even some whipped cream on top.

Mr. Handsome grew up with the classic Swiss Miss pre-made hot chocolate mix but has since expanded his palate. He will happily drink my form of hot chocolate, but if there happens to be any Trader Joe’s sipping chocolate around, he always reaches for that. It isn’t quite as sweet as conventional hot chocolate and has a richer taste.

How do y’all like your hot chocolate?

It’s a dreary, rainy day here in Nashville. Last week was absolutely beautiful, with clear skies and highs around 75 degrees every day. Today feels more like late fall, and the leaves seem to be changing color and falling off the trees at a much faster rate than even yesterday.

I thought it would be a good time for a fun discussion question. Do you eat cereal for breakfast? Or perhaps you’re a late-night cereal eater? Or maybe you don’t like cereal at all? If you do, what are your favorites?

Growing up, I was rarely allowed to have sugary cereals, but when we stayed at a hotel with a continental breakfast (which was rare) I would always run straight for the Kellogg’s Fruit Loops. At home, we ate Honey Nut Cheerios, Honey Bunches of Oats, and occasionally Raisin Bran. My mom bought it all from Costco, so we always had plenty. We didn’t eat cereal for breakfast, so it was more of an afternoon or before-bed snack. (If you’re curious what I ate for breakfast every single morning before school, from kindergarten through high school, I’ll write a separate post.)

These days, cereal is sometimes a breakfast food for my kids, but it’s more often a snack (and also a great way for me to sneak in extra calcium when I’m pregnant). To keep things simple and healthy, we all eat Corn Chex. For an extra treat, we mix in a small amount of low-sugar granola.

We are having a very hot day here in Nashville, so we’ve been spending time inside. Below is my fourth and final list of responses to the questions that you posted. Feel free to submit more. And be sure to share your answers to these questions.

How old are you? How did you meet your husband?

It always makes me feel uncomfortable to share my age, so I’ll just say that Mr. Handsome is in his mid-30s, and I am five years younger. Six years ago, we posted a multiple-part story of how we met (links below).

How We Met Part 1

How We Met Part 2

How We Met Part 3

How We Met Part 4

How We Met Part 5

Does your husband hope to have his own practice one day?

Possibly. We’re just waiting to see where God leads us.

What are your go-to, 30-minute-or-less dinner recipes?

Fajitas are my go-to dinner meal when I need something in 30 minutes or less. My recipe for quick and easy fajitas can be found on my Recipes page under Main Dishes. Chicken Parmesan is another great one. I haven’t made it in a while, but it’s both quick and easy.

You talk a lot about Mr. Handsome’s hobbies. Do you have hobbies? Has Little Buddy started to show interest in a sport or hobby?

Right now, Little Buddy wants to do whatever Daddy is doing, and they love making up adventures outside and inside. Little Buddy is starting team sports this fall, as well. As far as my hobbies go, I’ve never made much time for hobbies. I am a very practical person who likes to be productive and because of that, I have a hard time developing hobbies. I do enjoy exercising, so that is sort of a hobby. Forms of exercise that are also enjoyable and interesting, like hiking and biking, are my favorites. And of course, blogging is a hobby of mine.

When do you do your personal devotion time?

I usually do my personal devotion time in the evenings. Sometimes I have a chance to read the Bible during nap time, but there is usually so much to be done during the day that it’s hard for me to sit down and quiet my mind. So on most days, right after I put the kids to bed is the most ideal time. Both Mr. Handsome and I value calm, quiet evenings on weekdays. I know there will come a time when our kids are older and we will be busier, but for now, we try to keep bedtime consistent and put an emphasis on reading and quality family time.

How far away are your families? Do your kids routinely get to see grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins?

We have some family in Nashville and some a few hours away. The ones who don’t live here come to visit a lot, which we love.

What is your daily schedule like? Do you have set times that you do things?

I don’t currently have a set schedule, although we usually do school time in the mornings. Afternoons are for nap time for Littlest Buddy and rest time (independent play time) for Little Buddy. Errands and time with friends are sprinkled in at various times throughout the week.

What’s your favorite trip/favorite location that your have visited, in the US or abroad? Has there been a place you have not enjoyed visiting? I’m always looking for travel inspiration.

I’ve never traveled to a place that I haven’t enjoyed. Out of the places I have visited, it’s hard to pick a favorite because they are all unique in their own ways. The picture below is from one of my favorite historical trips. We visited some of the sites in Montgomery, Alabama, and were able to meet a sweet woman named Vera Harris. She knew Martin Luther King, Jr., because she lived down the street from the parsonage where he resided with his family. Her husband was also a Tuskegee airman, and they housed freedom riders in their home.

The picture at the top of the post is from our trip to New Orleans in 2016. For travel inspiration, take a look at my Travel page.

When I was growing up, my parents loved looking at homes for sale. It was almost like a hobby of theirs. They especially enjoyed “house shopping” on vacation. Whenever we were out sightseeing, if we came across a home for sale, they would stop and look. If there happened to be an open house going on, they were elated. They liked to play “guess how much this expensive home is listed for.”

As a kid, I never understood the appeal, and I I vowed to never waste good vacation time on such pursuits. Well, fast-forward a couple decades…

While we were in the Florida Panhandle last month, I saw this huge beach house under construction, and I just couldn’t help myself. Neither could Mr. Handsome. We took bets on what we thought its list price was, and let’s just say we were way off.

The home has 9 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, an elevator, and two gourmet kitchens, for a grand total of 11,000 square feet. It sits directly on the beach, which is nice, but it’s also a few doors down from a busy public beach and a four-story condo building geared towards families. The asking price is $22.5 million. I simply cannot understands who would buy this. Who needs 9 bedrooms? And two kitchens? Plus, the house is right on the main road. There is a mere 15-foot buffer between the side of the garage and the street.

I would think that someone with $22.5 million would want some privacy, like maybe their own island. At the very least, space for a gate and some tall shrubbery to keep the riffraff, like myself, out. You know, those of us whose houses cost 1/100th as much. Because with a sidewalk right out front, you would expect there would be more than a few gawkers walking by.

And if you were purchasing it as your private residence, why on Earth would you need 9 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms? I would also think that someone with such a nice home would want to entertain, but with only a three-car garage, a small driveway, and no street parking, that would be difficult.

But if it’s not designed to be a private residence, what is its purpose? We did the math, and based on area rental prices, paying $22.5 million on a home just to rent it out to vacationers wouldn’t work financially.

So I suppose now I am hooked on looking at expensive houses and guessing their value. Does anyone else do this, or am I the only one?

When we were in Chattanooga, we passed by a dog-friendly pub. On a Sunday evening, it was a popular place, with dozens of dogs roaming about while their owners socialized and ate. As we walked by, Littlest Buddy made his dog sound. His “woof woof” sounds incredibly authentic.

While I won’t pretend to be an expert in the inner workings of the canine brain, this did look like a fun place for a dog to play. It was a warm day, and there were plenty of tunnels and other toys scattered around, as well as some water play stations.

Have you ever seen a dog-friendly restaurant? Have you been to one?

It’s hard to believe that February is already upon us. Am I the only one who thinks 2023 is moving by at lightning speed?

I know we have discussed our favorite books before, but I’m also really curious to find out what your preferred method of reading is. Until recent years, a question would have been quite confusing. If you had asked someone what their preferred method of reading was even just twenty years ago, they probably would have replied, with a puzzled look, “I pick up a book and read it.”

But today, we have a lot of options, my favorite of which are audiobooks. As a busy mom, I rarely have time to sit down and read a book. I have a stack that I want to get through, but I can never seem to read more than a chapter (and sometimes only a few pages) before there is something else that must be done. So for that reason, audiobooks are my go-to.

So tell me, do you listen to audiobooks, or do you read books in the traditional way? Or do you have another method that you enjoy?

I would like to pose a question that I am very curious about. Do you reuse mouse traps in your home?

We rarely have issues with mice in our garage because we are very careful about keeping the door closed, but I spotted one the other day. After I was done letting out the appropriate scream, I immediately hollered to my husband, “We need to set a trap!” And by we, I meant him. So he fetched the same mouse trap that he has been using for four years, put some peanut butter on it, and set it.

“I can’t believe there are people in this world who reuse mouse traps,” I said to Mr. Handsome. But apparently his family was all about reusing their mouse traps when he was growing up.

The very next day, I happened to find myself at Home Depot, in the pest control section. And I just happened to see that mouse traps sell for less than 50 cents each. And I thought to myself, “Mr. Handsome must not know how cheap these things are.” So I bought 12.

Now we will never need to reuse another mouse trap again. Problem solved. And since disposing of the mouse won’t involve prying its dead body off the trap but simply throwing the whole thing in the garbage, I think it’s a task I can manage myself. I’ll even be okay with setting them, now that the process won’t require me to touch a dirty trap.

So I have to ask…do you believe in reusing mouse traps?