All about us

Hello!  Grab a cup of coffee, soda, glass of water, or hot tea.  Sit a while and let’s chat.

I’m a mother of two boys – the Wee One and the Imaginative One.

The Wee One is 13 years old.  He is willful, independent, musical, and articulate. His favorite phrase is “Yes.” Some of his favorite things are Hotwheels,  Hidden picture puzzles, Target, the Origami Yoda series of books, Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and the color orange. He absolutely dislikes Justin Bieber.  He is my sweets eater.  His food motto is the sweeter the better.  He is also my more adventurous eater.

If I could describe the Imaginative One in one word, it would be creative. He also enjoys questioning how things work or why things work. One of his favorite activities is reading books. His favorite books are Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing, Harry Potter series, Narnia, Percy Jackson series, and the Magic Tree House series. Actually I think he would read anything you put in front of him.  The Imaginative One sometimes acts as though he is a 40 year old in a 15year old body.  His favorite foods involve chocolate and pumpkin pie.  He is thankful there are cocoa trees and pumpkins in the world.  His dream foodie trip would be to Hershey, PA where he could stock up on lots of chocolate.  He also loves a great cup of apple cider or mint hot tea.

He’s now a freshman in high school with many activities.  He’s in DeMolay, ROTC, and Boy Scouts.  You’ll also find him practicing his Kung Fu.

During the day, I’m a special education teacher and at night I moonlight as the primary caretaker of the Imaginative One and Wee One. My hubby delivers pizza in the evenings/night so that we do not have to put the boys into day care. This has worked for the past 15 years.

I’m also an amateur cook for my family. My grandma was my inspiration. She almost always cooked home cooked meals for my mom, sister, grandpa, myself, and herself. Once I was an adult, I would cook dinner for her and grandpa for their birthdays. I felt that a meal cooked with love was a great birthday present. Another inspiration is my father-in-law. He was a great cook. Almost every Sunday, he cooked dinner for the family until his death in 2013. His problem is he didn’t know how to make a little of anything. He made a lot of food. My hubby tells me that I cook just like his father cooked.

My food weaknesses are coffee, chocolate, granola, and smoothies.

Random Facts about Me:

1. 1. I did the Disney College Program in 1995.  I’ll reference that fact as much as possible.
   2. I have a sensitivity to raw onions which is okay because I don’t like the taste of raw onions.  I love grilled onions though.
   3. I have a love hate relationship with bananas.  I mostly hate the taste of bananas so that’s why you won’t see many recipes using bananas on the blog.
   4. I love sour tasting foods – sour gummy worms, lemonade, and Key lime pie are a few of my favorite flavors.
   5. I truly believe in food memories.  There are certain foods that remind me of an event or a time in my life.  I also believe in song memories.  Certain songs will take me back to an even or a time in my life.
   6. I drive like my grandpa.  He knew shortcuts around where we live.  I am always taking different routes when I’m driving around town.  My mom is now getting used to that fact about me.
   7. I love to travel.  When I travel, I love to take photographs and talk to residents of that place or other people visiting the place.
   8. Photography is a hobby of mine.
   9. I’m known as Disney by many people.
   10. I love Aerosmith and P!nk  I’ve seen Aerosmith twice in concert and Steven Tyler by himself.  It was an experience that I will never forget.
   11. I love to visit zoo.  Hubby and I have a goal to visit a zoo or aquarium in every state.  So far we’ve been to zoos or aquariums in the following states:
       1. Ohio
       2. Pennsylvania
       3. West Virginia (Me only)
       4. Massachusetts (Me only)
       5. South Carolina
       6. Georgia
       7. Florida
       8. Kentucky
       9. Tennessee
       10. Indiana
       11. Illinois
       12. Missouri
       13. Iowa
       14. Plus two in Canada – Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls and the Toronto Zoo

Thanks for visiting!  I hope you have a magical day!

Traci