Category Archives: Miscellaneous Thoughts

Sometimes I just have random thoughts to share. Topics may vary, depending on my ever-changing mood. The views of this blogger may not reflect your own, so please be tolerant or exercise your sense of humor while reading. I have been known to use sarcasm enthusiastically.

March 30, 2012 · 8:00 AM

Foodie PenPals – Round 2

The Lean Green Bean

March marked my second month as a participant in the Foodie PenPals program. In January, I was matched with Jacqueline from Kentucky. I sent her a nice box of goodies from Texas, as documented here. This time, the person selected to shop for me was from Kentucky. What are the odds? Well, they’re probably about 1 in 300, but I was still stunned when I saw that a Kentucky girl would be returning the favor this time around. My new penpal caught on to it, too. Tara immediately noticed on my January blog post that my first match was from the Bluegrass State. And since this was her first time to participate, it just all seemed so… appropriate. Like foodie fate.

Here’s what Tara sent:

Foodie PenPal swag from the great state of Kentucky

Here’s how I knew we would get along just fine:

Be still my southern heart; it's biscuit mix!

Tara did a great job of picking items made in Kentucky, like this salsa

Salsa was interesting because it was fun to compare Kentucky salsa to our Texas version. Verdict: ours is salty/spicy; theirs is slightly sweet; both are good.

Then there was this gem – coffee laced with Maker’s Mark. Hello, Kentucky!

She had me at booze, but I also love coffee

I especially loved all of her handwritten little notes.

This note explains why she sent Cincinnati Chili.

It turns out this chili is made just over the border from Kentucky. Close enough for me. Plus, I’ve always wanted to try Cincinnati Chili. From what I’ve heard, it’s very different from the chili we make here in Texas. I haven’t tried it yet, but only because we just had a giant pot of Texas chili, and that just wouldn’t be fair. {insert childish giggling here}

Thank you, Tara, for another great Foodie PenPals experience. I thoroughly enjoyed your selections, as well as your written commentary of each item. I didn’t post a close-up of the stick candy, but it is very much like what I grew up eating in NW Arkansas. Thanks for the blast from the past! I hope you had an equally rewarding experience for your first Foodie PenPal exchange.

To see what I sent my March match, go to For the Love of Kale blog written by my new Foodie PenPal Heather. I’ve already heard that the coffee cup that was included didn’t survive the journey. That’s a bummer. Heather is vegan, and I confess I went into it with zero experience picking out things for a vegan diet. I just kept reminding myself of her hint of “nothing with a face.” You should have seen me browsing grocery aisles, picking up items and asking “does this have a face?” It was fun and educational, to say the least. Fingers are crossed that she liked everything in her box!

If you are interested in participating, click this link to the Foodie PenPals homepage. Remember, you do NOT need to be a blogger to participate. You just have to love food and the opportunity to make new friends. Who knows…. maybe I’ll draw your name some day! And that’s part of the fun. You never know who you’re going to be shopping for, or who will be sending you a box of goodies until the list comes out. I hope to see some of you on it soon!

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March 28, 2012 · 3:40 PM

It’s 85F in Houston this week. Must be time to break out the flip-flops!

It’s always warm in deep south Texas, which explains why we are a flip-flop culture. All across the ‘Southern Coast’ casual flip-flops are our footwear of choice, especially in the summer when temperatures top 100 degrees. I can’t speak for everyone, but my clan likes them cute and cheap. If we can score a nifty pair for under $15, we’re as happy as clams. It also helps us justify having a closet FULL of them. I’m not joking when I confess that I usually have at least a dozen pair of flip-flops in various closets at any given time. I have them stacked in my bedroom closet. I keep them in the coat closet downstairs so I can throw them on for a trip to the grocery store. I stash a pair in the little niche in my kitchen so I can run out and grab the mail each afternoon. And it’s not just me. Most of my friends and family collect them the same way we collect nail polish, sunglasses and souvenir t-shirts.

Imagine my surprise when I received a pair of flip-flops from my dear friend Kirsten from Michigan. Her BFF Jennifer started a company making flip-flops from recycled blue jeans and she convinced her to send me a pair. How cool is that? As much as I love the shoes, I also love the story behind them. Jeans Gone Green creates unique flip-flops made from blue jeans that go unsold at thrift and resale shops. After the unwanted jeans are collected, they’re turned over to Grand Traverse Industries in Traverse City, Michigan, who in turn provides jobs for those with special needs or limited job opportunities. Their employees cut and prepare the denim for a team of artisans and seamstresses who design and create one-of-a-kind footwear. And we’re not talking about plain cheapo flip-flops, folks. We’re talking high-end footwear embellished with Swarovski crystals. No kidding. These are not my run-of-the-mill sporting goods store flip-flops. These are by far the swankiest flip-flops I’ve ever possessed.

Another nice touch is the packaging. No clunky cardboard shoe boxes here! Jeans Gone Green packages their footwear in handmade denim bags made from portions of the jeans not used in their shoes. The long, narrow shape makes the bags a perfect size for reusing as wine bottle totes, a e-reader bag, or a beach bag for a rolled towel, a tube of sunscreen and a bottle of water. When they say they recycle old denim, they really mean it. I just love that.

As a bonus, the owner (Jennifer) offered to set up a discount code for readers of this blog. If you’re in the mood to treat yourself, visit the Jeans Gone Green website and use the internet promo code NANABREAD to receive a discount. This offer is only good for purchases made on their website, not in stores. And speaking of stores, the company is rapidly expanding, including into stores across Texas. Don’t forget to look for them in a boutique near you. For your convenience, they have a “Where to Buy” link on their website, but if you can’t find them in your favorite shop, ask for them! They’re partnering with new shops all the time. Here’s the scoop on the company:

Jeans Gone Green
http://jeansgonegreen.com/
Traverse City, Michigan
“Good People – Good Things”

Special thanks to my friend Kirsten at Comfortably Domestic and Jennifer of Jeans Gone Green. What a wonderful surprise, ladies. Thanks so much!

Note: This post was written of my own volition. I was not in any way solicited, compensated, or reimbursed to promote Jeans Gone Green and/or their footwear. These were simply a gift from a friend. I am sharing them with you because I loved them and thought you might, too. Furthermore, I will in NO WAY be compensated or reimbursed for any purchases made using the NANABREAD discount code. That has been offered by the owner of the company as an unsolicited gift to readers of this blog. You are in no way obligated to make a purchase. If you do, it may help to note that mine ran a little small, so you may wish to order a size larger than you normally wear.

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March 20, 2012 · 7:10 AM

This will make you say “Whuuh?”

My husband, The Complete Package, recently sent me a link to a You Tube video. He doesn’t usually do that unless it’s something interesting. As it turns out the video is part of a trend of learning to perform common tasks the “lean way” which just means more efficiently. In this case, it was how to fold a t-shirt. Translation – fewer steps, less time. When I watched it, I immediately said “Whuh???? Wait a second! Replay that!” I’m not going to lie. I watched it a few times. And then I ran straight to my dresser for a t-shirt.

Seriously, you have to see this. Click here to see the video TCP sent. Here’s a link for another version of the same folding technique.

And you know what? It works. Here’s a stack of t-shirts folded the lean way:

Perfectly folded t-shirts folded "the lean way"

If you like to fold your t-shirts into smaller or more compact stacks, you just fold them in half again like so. Still only adds one simple step to the process, and they still end up perfectly uniform.

This technique is perfect for neat freaks like me

I know, I know… it’s not earth-shattering. But you have to admit, it is pretty interesting. And tell the truth. Did you or did you not grab a t-shirt and try this?

PS – Not that I have any knowledge of this type of thing, but hypothetically I’m thinking this would make a great bar bet. Just bet someone you could pick up a t-shirt and fold it without ever letting go of the shirt until it’s done. I mean, who wouldn’t love a free beer? Am I right?

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February 29, 2012 · 7:00 AM

My Baby ran her first half-marathon!

My Baby {right} & her friend Lindsay stop for a picture at Mile 3

That’s right. My daughter is a rock star! After running a handful of 5Ks and one 10K, our daughter took on her first half-marathon and not only finished, but did it with a big smile on her face. Seriously… who runs 13.1 miles and still has a smile on her face? That’s right – My Baby!

TCP & the grandbabies bundled up

The Complete Package & I took Jonah Bear and Lilly Bug to the race so they could see Mommy run. Getting them up and dressed at 5:30am was not their idea of fun, but once we were out on the course staking a claim on a great vantage point (& unpacking breakfast snacks), they started to get more excited. It was freezing cold, or at least felt like it, but it was important to us to be there cheering from the sidelines and documenting her first half-marathon experience. It was so worth the cold and wind when the kids saw Mommy running up the street at Mile 3. I have to admit, I got excited, too. Once that first runner and his escort passed, it was a blur of runners for a good solid hour.

Here are a few snaps of the runners we cheered for until My Baby and her friend Lindsay ran past. I was amazed at the diversity of runners.

I don't know this girl, but she gets my vote for "Best Dressed in a Tutu"

This "Beer Run" sign was wildly popular with runners.

Oh, wait…. here they come! Here they come!

Coming into view at Mile 3 - all smiles and pure awesomeness

Hi, girls! We're all so proud of you two! Whoo Whoo!

This is where they stopped to have their picture taken (that first photo above). We were at the bell tower on Cesar Chavez near City Hall. It was a perfect vantage point for the early part of the race, and it was just far enough from the start line that they could shed their outer layer of clothing and leave it with us.

Once they were past us, we gathered up the kids, hit the port-o-potties (TCP has a special place in heaven now for taking 2 toddlers into portable toilets on a race course), took a stroll around downtown Austin, and made our way to the First Street bridge, where we saw the girls cross the river at Mile 8 – still smiling.

Matching hot pink shirts & black headbands made them easy to spot.

I snapped of a few quick shots of them coming across the river at Mile 8 before they spotted our son-in-law and his friend Marcus directly across the street from us. They rode their bikes to the race, and pretty much trailed the girls along the course. It turned out to be a perfect way for them to cheer the girls on, but also mule all the gel packs and energy bars they might need along the route.

My Baby stops for a gel break with her hubs {left} & their friend Marcus

It was right after this point that the kids hit the wall. Jonah Bear was tired and Lilly Bug was frozen like a popsicle. Her little hands were like ice. We agreed to meet the kids later for a post-race lunch and we headed home to give the babies a break and let them thaw out. At lunch, the girls celebrated with giant beers and a platter of carbs. They laughed at the looks they got walking into Pluckers in their full running gear and medals, but who cares? They had an awesome time, and met their goal – to finish together in under 3 hours. Their final time as they crossed the finish line side by side was 2:39:37.

Smile, ladies. You're about to win your 13.1 badge of honor.

I’m no expert, but I think that’s pretty awesome for a first half-marathon, and we couldn’t be more proud. As we celebrated over lunch, we asked our daughter if she would ever shoot for the full marathon. She immediately said, “Oh, no way! I can’t even imagine it!” Then I reminded her that she said the same thing about moving up from a 5K to a 10K, and from a 10K to the half-marathon. Her response? “Good point, Mom!”

So it’s settled. 2013 = 26.2. You might as well dream big.

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February 28, 2012 · 9:28 AM

Foodie PenPals: And so it begins…

Foodie PenPals logo from The Lean Green Bean Blog

Last month (via Twitter) I discovered the Foodie PenPals program. It’s a fabulous grass-roots effort created by Lindsay of The Lean Green Bean Blog. What started as a small group of friends exchanging boxes has grown to over 200+ participants in the U.S. & Canada for February 2012. Participants are randomly matched each month and sent a spreadsheet of the month’s match-ups. As a member of Foodie PenPals, you agree to ship a box of your favorite things (regional or not – it’s your choice) within a set price limit to the person who was selected as your match. In turn, another participant will be given your name and will be sending you a box. All boxes are shipped before the 15th of each month, and all participants who blog agree to post a story on a designated day at the end of the month. Foodie PenPals is not just for bloggers, however. Anyone may be eligible to participate. In my case, my first match is not a blogger, so I’ll be sharing what I sent her as well as what I received in this post.

Participants are required to contact their match to arrange for a shipping address, as well as to find out if your recipient has any known food allergies or restrictions. After that, you’re off to shop for whatever you think your Foodie PenPal might like. I was very fortunate. My first match was Jacqueline from Kentucky. She had no food allergies, and pretty much likes a lot of the same things I do. She was a dream match and fantastic to work with. I did accidentally slip up and send her some jalapeno-stuffed olives after she clearly stated in her e-mail that she doesn’t like olives, but that was entirely my fault. When I was packing her box, I grabbed them from my pantry on a whim so she could try my Mexican Martini recipe. Luckily, she took it in stride and graciously explained that she had friends who would love them. Awesome!

Here’s what I sent to Jacqueline:

Box contents have been recreated; I forgot to snap a photo before I shipped it. Duh.

• 1 bag of my favorite chocolate chips – Guittard extra dark chocolate
• 2 bags of flavored coffee from two Texas coffee companies I love & support
• 2 cans of chilies – poblano peppers (mild to medium heat) and chipotle (hot)
• 1 jar of jalapeno stuffed olives (because sometimes I’m a bonehead)
• 1 jar of our favorite BBQ sauce from the Salt Lick BBQ in Austin, TX
• 1 box of our favorite rice – grown 20 min from us (sent box, not tub)
• 1 jar of homemade red plum jam I made this spring
• 1 small bottle of local Texas hill country honey
• 1 bag of pupper treats for her dog Lucy – from our Ziggy

Here’s what Jacqueline had to say about her box:
“Jeanne,
Thank you so very much for my wonderful box of goodies! Everything arrived safe and sound, and I’ve already killed some of the coffee. So delicious. And I will be all over the jam in the morning. I am so excited to dig in, and I think my first outing with the foodie penpals has been a success! Thank you SO much!
Jacqueline

PS. Lucy’s sending lots of love to Ziggy for her awesome treats!”

Here’s what I received from the girl who received me as a match:

A box of organic goodness from Kayla at Sprouty Buns Blog

Kayla from Sprouty Buns Blog sent me my first Foodie PenPals box, and it came just in time for me to share the contents with our two grandkids – Jonah Bear & Lilly Bug – as we went to Austin to watch our daughter run in her first half-marathon (which, I’m happy to report, she finished with a smile on her face and a time of 2:39:49. Go, Baby, Go!). It was an awesome weekend.

Justin's Peanut Butter, Lara Bars & handwritten notes from Kayla

The kids got to share the Lara Bars, Justin’s Peanut Butter samples, and the animal crackers. The wasabi-coated dried edamame and the oatmeal crisps stayed home. I’m willing to share, but not when it comes to wasabi edamame or peas. I love those blazing hot little suckers! (Actually, I did try to share them with The Complete Package on Saturday night, but he said they were too hot for him. So I guess I do share occasionally. Rarely. Sometimes. Whatever.)

Wasabi will open your sinus cavities, which is convenient since I have a cold.

The oatmeal crisps are fabulous, too. They’re great for snacking as is, but they’re even better with a little squeeze or mound of peanut butter on top. How convenient, then, that Kayla thought to include 3 peanut butter sample packs. That Kayla – she’s a planner.

Granola Crisps - great for snacking; with or without peanut butter

As you can tell, my first round of boxes as a new member of Foodie PenPals was a roaring success. I loved my box of goodies from Kayla, and Jacqueline really seemed to enjoy her box from me. As a bonus, Jacqueline is now a new subscriber to my blog, which means this program brought two gifts – boxes of fun food AND new friends. If you’d like to join the fun, visit The Lean Green Bean Blog by clicking HERE and let Lindsay know you’d like to throw your name in the hat.

Remember, you don’t have to have a blog or even a Facebook or Twitter account. All you need is an e-mail and mailing address and an excitement to share your love of food with others. Will I see your name on the list next month? Will YOU be my next random match? How fun would that be? I can’t wait for next month!

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February 27, 2012 · 8:37 AM

“One Kitchen, Many Hearts”

That theme keeps recurring in my circle of blogging friends. We continually share recipes, swap family and personal stories, and most of all keep each other in stitches. When we’re not blogging, we’re usually chatting on Twitter or sharing recent finds on Pinterest. We’ve even joked about building a blogger commune with one giant kitchen so we can do this on a permanent basis (once one of us wins the lottery & all of our spouses or soon-to-be-spouses agree). Although we are literally spread out across the U.S., we are bound by our mutual love of blogging, food & family. “One Kitchen, Many Hearts” has not only become our mantra, it aptly conveys how much we’ve grown to care about one another.

Top: Mads, Kirsten & Megan; Bottom: Jeanne, Allison & Kat

Like any great group of gal pals, we love to make each other laugh. We not only support each other through thick and thin, we cheer each other on. And since some of us occasionally take it one step further and mail packages to each other, we thought it would be fun to start a gift box exchange program with a focus on sharing some of our favorite things, regional cuisines, and anything else that might tickle our fancy. Armed only with a list of food allergies and strong dislikes, our boxes are “sender’s choice” and open to just about anything that can safely be shipped (which obviously rules out kittens and cheese curds). Our goal is to ship & receive all boxes during the same week and then reveal what we all got on the same day. If this first round of boxes is any indication, this is going to be fun. I mean, who doesn’t love getting surprise packages in the mail?

This month was our first “One Kitchen, Many Hearts” box exchange, and today we’ll all be sharing what we received in a blog post on each of our blogs (links below). My first gift box came from Allison from Decadent Philistines Save the World in Arizona. Here’s what she sent:

Direct from Arizona - Cactus Candy & local chili infused olive oil

Now, some of you may be thinking “Cactus candy?” but not me. I actually love the flavor of prickly pear cactus fruit. Maybe it’s a southwest thing, but it’s not totally unique to me. In fact, the best restaurant margarita I ever had was a frozen lime concoction with a thick, sweet prickly pear cactus fruit syrup swirled into it. Have mercy, it was delicious. So when I saw the candy, and given my recent love affair with Turkish Delight, I was thrilled. Prickly pear cactus fruit tastes a little like pomegranate mixed with strawberries, and the texture of these candies is like my childhood favorite orange slice candies. They’re like soft jelly gummies coated in crunchy granulated sugar, and they are lovely.

The bottle of olive oil was fate. On the very day I received my box from Allison, The Complete Package and I had a conversation about infused olive oils. Flavors we like, types we would like to try, and the basil & garlic infused oil our son-in-law had just made the previous night for eggplant and chicken parmesan. Which, by the way, was fabulous. When I opened the box from Allison and found the chili pepper infused oil, it just seemed like kismet. Somewhere, the infused oil gods were smiling on us. Now my mind is racing with all of the ways I could use it – brushed onto grilled meats, drizzled over a pizza, in salad dressings, mixed with herbs and dipped with bread. The list is literally endless.

Special thanks to Allison (and to Her Royal Highness, Allison’s young daughter) for selecting the perfect items to share with this Texas gal. I will enjoy them thoroughly and think of you fondly as I do. ¡Muchas gracias!

To see what everyone else received, click on these links:
Kat at Tenaciously Yours (recipient of my box)
Mads at Le Petite Pancake
Kirsten at Comfortably Domestic
Megan at Wanna Be a Country Cleaver
Allison at Decadent Philistines Save the World

NOTE: Tomorrow I’ll be sharing information on the Foodie PenPal program that inspired this inner circle box exchange. It’s a much larger project with over 200 participants, and it inspired our smaller version with my blogging buddies. Think you might be interested in joining? Tune in tomorrow to learn more!

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February 23, 2012 · 1:38 PM

This too shall pass. Hopefully soon.

And a polar fleece blanket. That's all I need.

Sorry kids, but I’m just not up to blogging this week. I’ve been attacked by a vicious head cold and I have no resolve to fight back. I fully admit I’m a wimp, so until this passes I’ll be in bed hiding under a fleecy blanket with a box of menthol-scented tissues, a bag of my favorite honey-lemon cough drops and my little dog. Love (but not icky contagious kisses) to you all…

– Jeanne (NanaBread)

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January 30, 2012 · 10:39 AM

A Monday Mystery: Galveston’s (In)Famous Phantom Face

Monday. I’m not a big fan. It’s usually laundry day. Sometimes, I resent Monday because it means my weekend is officially over. So to perk things up, I thought I’d share this little ditty and start your week off by giving you something to chew on. A Monday mystery, so to speak. Ready to get your ‘creep’ on?

This mystery takes place in Galveston, a city rich in history and local lore. One such tale involves Ewing Hall at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). Legend has it the original land owner left this coveted parcel of Galveston Island real estate to his family with one important condition – that it be kept in the family and never sold. Upon his death, his children promptly sold the land. (Kids!) Years later, this building was constructed as part of the University of Texas medical center campus.

Ewing Hall at UTMB in Galveston - an unassuming facade, for sure.

Here’s where the creep factor comes in. Inexplicably, a phantom face began to appear on the exterior of the building. Look at the photo above. Can you see it? Look at the center of the building, just above the dark door. Here’s a closer look:

UTMB's Phantom Face - Can you see him now?

See him now? Hovering over the black door? That’s the guy. Our mystery man. Legend has it he is the original land owner. The one who requested his land never be sold. The one who supposedly was so distraught by his family’s betrayal that he appeared on the exterior of the building and has been there ever since.

But it gets spookier. See how he appears in the third panel down from the roof? Well, that’s not where he started. Originally, he appeared in the top panel two squares up from where he is now. When he appeared, it caused a stir and the building’s owners had him sandblasted off the building. And then he returned in the next square down, on the second row, where he was again sandblasted away. And now? Now he’s back on the third row, where he remains to this day.

The phantom's final resting place, or so the legend goes.

If you look closely, you can see that the first and second panels appear to have been sandblasted. The pebbled sandy texture of the panels is gone when compared to the rest of the building. So could the legend be true? Could the place be haunted by a phantom as a reminder to his family that their betrayal is neither forgotten nor forgiven? Could he be faithfully guarding the land that he loved so dearly? Could this all be a bunch of hooey? Who knows.

But wait, there’s more! As if the legend of the phantom is not creepy enough, there’s more. Want to know the rumor behind why they never sandblasted him from this current spot? Because they were afraid he would move down to the door and come into the building. WHAT?!? Well, I guess that makes some kind of twisted sense, since he has moved down 2 levels already. Next stop – the black door. {chills} Man, I love a good ghost story!

So there you have it. Is it true? Who could possibly know for sure? It’s more a matter of belief. Do you believe in phantoms or legends or ghosts? Do you have a story to share about a phantom sighting? Or do you think it’s all a bunch of hysterical nonsense? As the saying goes, “Only the Phantom knows!”

Note: Special thanks to The Complete Package (my beloved husband) for providing the photos in this story. His recent motorcycle ride to Galveston to see this local legend with his own eyes provided the inspiration for this post.

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January 23, 2012 · 9:49 AM

Trivial Trivia: NanaBread Edition

It’s Monday and this weekend ended way too quickly. Since you’re already depressed and thinking “Ugh. Could Mondays get any worse?” I thought I would bore you with NanaBread trivia (a.k.a. crap you might not know about me and may not care to). Just in case you were curious. If you’re busy at work you can always bookmark this for later. If you’re not, read it now. It will look like you’re studying some fancy report. Am I right? Here we go:

I rode in the Goodyear Blimp as a child. I was maybe 6 or 7 years old and I wore my Brownie uniform. It was a special occasion, after all.

We have 13 bottles of hot sauce in our fridge & 2 in the pantry. Clearly, addiction is in play here. My favorite is a garlic & chili paste. It’s glorious.

I dream of owning a cabin on a lake (or river) with a giant porch, a bunk room, and a huge stone fireplace indoors as well as a fire pit by the water. I’ve devoted an entire Pinterest page to pinning ideas for said lake house.

Speaking of Pinterest, that s#it’s addicting! It’s the laziest version of scrapbooking I’ve ever seen. On the upside, I will never again have a drawer full of torn-out magazine pages again. Bonus!

I played the French Horn for six years (yes, I was a band geek). I dropped out late in high school when the band director wouldn’t stop screaming at students. He had anger management issues, and I don’t like angry men. It’s a shame, too. It’s a beautiful instrument, and I coulda’ been a contendah.

I love my coffee. I only drink one cup a day, but I enjoy it thoroughly.

Speaking of caffeine, I usually try to avoid it. Sometimes, however, coffee and Dr Pepper lead me astray. Don’t get me started on the Dublin Dr Pepper thing. People are not happy with Dr Pepper, and I’m one. Shame on them. Shame!

One of my favorite meals is my mother’s recipe for beef stroganoff. She makes it with sour cream, thinly sliced sirloin, mushrooms and buttered noodles. It’s so good, I sometimes eat the leftover stroganoff cold right out of the fridge. I am not the least bit apologetic about that. I also love cold pizza for breakfast, in case you’re following my trends.

Mom's Beef Stroganoff - beefy, creamy & delicious

I’m a dog girl. It’s not that I don’t like cats, I just don’t want one. I cannot, however, resist a cute dog. I get especially gooey around puppies. When Ziggy was a baby, I could hold him in the palm of my hand. He was the cutest puppy ever. He’s still handsome (in case he’s reading this), he’s just crankier now that he’s almost 13, or 91 if you’re counting in dog years.

I love our Tempurpedic mattress. We had a water-bed for far too many years (please don’t ask). Since we bought the Tempurpedic, we’ve never looked back. It’s one of the best purchases we’ve ever made as a married couple.

I also love my Jeep Liberty. It’s a 2003 and has just under 125,000 miles on it. Well-earned miles. Our longest road trip in the Jeep was from Houston to North Carolina and back. Our most frequent trips involve weekend jaunts to Austin to see the kids. We love visiting our babies.

Jonah Bear, Bama Boy, Lilly Bug & My Baby - Christmas 2010

Given a choice between bathroomy scents and foody scents, I choose foody. Candles, cologne, air freshener – I love the scent of vanilla, almond, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, lemon pound-cake, cucumber. I get choked up around strong scents like magnolia, lavender, etc. It may be psychological instead of physiological, but it still happens.

Wood floors or carpet? Well, we have both. We put wood in downstairs and waited to decide what to do the upstairs to give us time to adjust to wood. I’m starting to think wood upstairs would be nice. Wood with big rugs.

Cake or Pie? I choose pie. Especially fruit pies. Not that I’d turn down a custard pie, but fruit is my favorite. Blueberry, cherry, coconut cream, pumpkin. LOVE pie. My friend Kirsten sent me a big jar of home canned Michigan cherries. I’m considering saving them for a homemade cherry pie this spring for our ‘ladies only’ Hoegarden Weekend. Sharing them with family appeals to me.

My oh my - I love pie!

I will never be a vegetarian. I love meat. Especially bacon. And steak.

Travel is my favorite hobby but it’s expensive, which is why we can’t do it as often as say origami. Or sewing. Or blogging, which is even cheaper. But when I win the lottery, I’m getting out of here, baby! I’m gonna SEE THE WORLD (even more). Some people want an RV. I want a Eur-Rail Pass.

We once joked about adopting a cow in Switzerland. No kidding, you can do that. We saw it on TV. You get a photo of your cow, you have to agree to visit it once in your lifetime (score!), and you get 200 pounds of cheese from your cow shipped directly to your door. The only thing stopping us was the fact that you could buy a car cheaper than you could rent a cow.

My 4 sisters & I grew up watching The Muppet Show and Sunday night Disney features. Loved it. Mom also registered us for the Weekly Readers program, so we read a lot of books. It’s true what they say. Reading IS fundamental.

Growing up, we went camping for virtually every family vacation. I loved it then, but my idea of camping now is a rustic (but fully furnished) cabin on a lake in the Canadian Rockies. As my mother always said, I have champagne taste on a beer budget. But now that we’re older, we buy better beer.

We loved our week at this rental cabin in Glacier National Park

Forrest Gump is my favorite movie. Some people think it’s hokey and corny and sentimental and over the top, but that’s exactly why I love it. It’s so full of surprises and emotion and promise. I can’t even think about Forrest talking to Jenny under the tree at the end of the movie without crying. It just touches me.

I’m a Pisces. I’ll be 49 in March and I have the gray hairs to prove it. Not too many (yet). Just enough to remind me I’m not 29 anymore.

Molasses. I can’t get enough. There. I said it.

Okay, you probably tuned out right after ‘I played the French horn’ so I’ll end this now. There’s more. Oh, yes, there is more. But my cup of coffee is starting to wear off, and you know I’m not this chatty when I’m caffeine-free. So enough about me. Tell me one thing about yourself that most people don’t know. It doesn’t have to be salacious. Just interesting or quirky. Hit me with it. I promise not to judge. Aaaaaaaaaand GO!

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January 5, 2012 · 11:51 AM

Hi, My Name is NanaBread and I am a Peppermint Bath Product Junkie (The Re-run Edition)

I don’t usually re-run posts, but this morning I took a shower with some of my favorite bath products and it reminded me of this old post from September 2010. So if you missed this one or if you’re just into post-holiday confessions, here is one of my favorite old posts highlighting some of my favorite things and my burgeoning addiction to all things peppermint. Enjoy!

Is there a 12-step program for bath product addiction? There should be. I have a serious problem when it comes to peppermint scented bath products – I spend too much money on them. It’s a love that apparently knows no boundary. I’ve tried to control it, but I can’t. I’m weak and I know it, but I smell good.

A Peek Into My Minty Addiction - Peppermint Bath Products

Let’s literally start at the top with Nioxin’s Scalp Therapy. I picked this up at my hair salon on a whim and never regretted anything but the cost. I’ll be honest. I don’t use it every day because I just can’t wrap my head around using a $40 shampoo and conditioner twin-pack on a daily basis, but I do use it once a week or so (as a special treat). It’s especially refreshing in the summer after a hot sweaty morning pulling weeds in the flower beds. I don’t buy it often, but I love and appreciate it when I do. It’s lovely, and I hope you win the lottery some day so you can afford to make it part of your daily routine.

I was in San Francisco when I stumbled into an Origins store with bloody swollen feet crying for help or for someone to put me out of my misery. That’s what happens when you wear the wrong shoes to sightsee in San Francisco. (Travel hint: don’t wear brand new leather wedges if you’re walking the streets of San Francisco. Wear running shoes and put a pair of bunny slippers in your purse. Wear the running shoes when you’re in motion and the bunny slippers when you give up and stop for a margarita.) Origins saved my feet and my trip. I bought the 4-piece leg & foot rejuvenation package. I love their clever product names: Foot Rest, Sole Searcher, Leg Lifts and Reinventing the Heel. Don’t let their humor fool you. These beauties are seriously fabulous and effective. Thank you, Origins. Because of you, I was able to leave my heart in San Francisco instead of pieces of my wrecked feet.

My longest lasting peppermint crush (by far) has been the Oatmeal Peppermint bath bar from Garden Botanika. Oh, my…I have loved it for so long. If I had a dollar for every six dollar bar I’ve bought, I’d still be in the hole, but I’d be a happy camper. I love this soap more than life itself. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but I do love it fiercely. The oatmeal chunks set in a creamy peppermint bar will cleanse and exfoliate you like Helga the Baltic spa technician. I’ll warn you – you will look like you lost a cat fight when you first step out of the shower, but your skin will feel as soft as a baby’s backside.

J.R. Watkins Apothecary Peppermint Rejuvenating Foot Cream is my new lotion obsession. It’s labeled as a foot cream but it’s much, much more than that. Because it’s gentle and absorbs very quickly, I use it everywhere – even on my face. That’s saying a lot, because I have sensitive skin and mild rosacea. I can use this product without any fear of breakouts or that greasy feeling you get from some lotions. I put it on and a minute later, my skin feels smooth and dry. I am in love with this lotion. I will even go so far as to say that it has helped reduce the wrinkles on my face and neck over the past year. I put it on every morning before I apply my make-up and every evening before I go to bed. About the only place I don’t use it is on my feet. Go figure.

You’re probably thinking right now “geez…how many peppermint products can one woman use?” But wait! There’s more! My daughter introduced me to the most amazing liquid soap on a shopping trip to Austin’s SoCo district. We were snooping around the Farm to Market Organic Grocery on South Congress when she handed me a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Peppermint Pure-Castile Soap (certified organic and fair trade). She said it would blow my mind, and it did. For serious peppermint junkies, this is the hard stuff. It is a peppermint explosion in a bottle. Combined with a nice bath scrubbing poof, this will make your heart sing and your body parts tingle. I like to use it first thing in the morning when I need a shower to wake me up, or after an hour in the garage wrestling with my jiggly parts on the elliptical machine. Imagine jumping into a frozen pond. That’s how refreshing I find this soap. And it makes my entire bathroom and bedroom smell pepperminty fresh for half an hour after I shower. Here’s another secret: I use their almond scented soap at night when I want to unwind and smell good. And believe me, it smells really, really good.

Last but not least, I love the Savannah Bee Company’s Mint Julep Beeswax Lip Balm. You can buy it in a tube or in a little metal tin. While I usually favor lip balm tubes, my daughter found a great deal on E-Bay and we split the cost of a 12-pack of the cute little metal tins. I’ll be honest. She had me at beeswax. When they added Mint Julep, I was sunk. This all-natural lip balm is everything you want in a lip balm. It’s creamy, it’s long-lasting, and its peppermint oil content leaves your lips feeling quenched and refreshed. The Complete Package will testify that I am a lip balm addict. I carry 3-4 brands (a quick nod to Burt’s Bees tinted lip balm here – watermelon is my color). I carry it at all times. I use it every 15 minutes. I can’t stop. On the up side, my lips are always lush and kissable at a moment’s notice (the better to kiss you with, my dear!). I know my excessive use of peppermint lip balm is a problem because my (now 5) year-old grandson, Jonah, will now turn to me in the car and say, “can I get some of that?” I’m sorry, Jonah Bear. Nana didn’t mean to start you down the road to peppermint product addiction at such an early age. She should know better. But now that I have your attention, have you seen this peppermint lotion I got? AARRGHHH! Somebody stop me!

{Disclaimer: NanaBread has no ties to any of the products or companies shown above. She is simply a peppermint lovin’ junkie who feels compelled to share that love with her readers. No products appearing in this blog post were given, sponsored or donated even though NanaBread would have died and gone to heaven if they had been. All opinions are strictly her own. Pinky swear.}

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