Tag: #food

Just Me . . . Having the Best Birthday Ever!!!

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As I mentioned in my last post, a special day was right around the corner that I wanted to share with you guys. And that special day was (drumroll, please) my birthday! I know that I say this every year, but me and Goodmommy had such a blast, and I still can’t hush up about how hyped I am.

Even though birthdays come back every year, they’re a really big deal. It’s not just a day about you, but also a celebration of the beautiful and wonderful gift of life that God has blessed us with. Life has it’s ups and downs for everyone, but the fact that we are still breathing is a blessing within itself. In reality, every day is worth celebrating.

Sending time with Goodmommy is always a blast, and I want to share how we spent our special day with all of you, as well! Okay, enough of the chatter, now! My 2022 birthday post is a go!

Our first stop was probably one of my favorites out of the whole day; and it was only just beginning! We decided to stop at Claire’s to do something that we’ve been talking about for years–getting my second ear piercing! And considering that Claire’s has been known for piercing ears for decades—or 40 years, to be exact—we thought it would be a great place to get the job done.

I actually got my first ear piercing when I was a few months old, so I obviously don’t remember anything from that experience–though Goodmommy’s retelling of my baby-self’s reaction always makes me giggle. As a result, I never knew how it felt to get your ear’s pierced before my birthday, so I was naturally a little nervous. But considering that I handle shots so well, I knew that this was going to be a walk in the park.

Despite our original plan to get the silver cross, we decided to get a stainless-steel star after the reccomendation to get a smaller earring. And I immediately fell in love with the results–it’s small, sweet, and simple. I can’t thank Goodmommy enough for getting me my second piercing! In fact, I loved it so much that I may even get another one, in a few years.

My reaction to the first piercing; it burned for about a minute, but I only felt a little pinch, as expected.
The finished product! I couldn’t be more obsessed! 🙂
Me cleaning my ears for the first time. I was a little confused about the steps at first, but once you get the hang of it it’s pretty simple.

Before we left our house, Goodmommy shared with me that she was contemplating taking me to a surprise destination for my birthday celebration, and I was over the moon to find out that it was Barnes and Nobles–my favorite bookstore.

If you’re a frequent visitor of my blog, you already know how I feel about books. And what I really appreciate about Barnes & Nobles is they’re variety–not only with the genres of their books, but with the types of items that they sell, too! As soon as I saw on a sign that the Young Readers’ section was upstairs, we took a ride on the escalator and searched around the entire second floor.

After a few minutes of searching, I finally found the section in question, and I couldn’t have been more excited by the shelves of novels that stood before me. I really love how this section in particular had literature that varied from pictures books to upper-middle grade, which makes it appropriate for a large range of ages.

We ended up purchasing three awesome novels–one of which was a graphic novel–for about ten bucks each. Another one of them was on my TBR (or to be read) list for this year, so I was super grateful for the opportunity to finally read it! Oh, and don’t worry, y’all; I’ll be posting all the book reviews for each one soon. ;))

So, I’m a firm believer that birthday’s don’t have to break the bank. But a simple piece of cake is always nice. And that’s why our next stop was no other than The Cheesecake Factory. Now, in case I’ve never mentioned this on my blog, cheesecake is one of my absolute favorite desserts, and we hadn’t had a slice for like, two years. So as anyone would assume, I was greatly anticipating eating a slice.

Me and Goodmommy are on a health journey, so it was a little shocking–to say the least–to see the amount of calories in a slice of each cheesecake. Seriously though, one slice is like half of the calories for the day! And although all of the options looked absolutely delicious, we both decided to stick with the classics–a slice of Cheesecake Factory’s original cheesecake.

After we saw the fact that it was a full house inside the restaurant, we decided to eat our delicious treats in the car. But I didn’t mind, at all; we had a close up view of the entire food court section of the mall!

To all of the cheesecake fans who don’t think they’d like the plain original, I’ve got to press the fact that The Cheesecake Factory knows what they’re doing. The piece of cheesecake had the perfect amount of sweetness, and the soft texture of the cream cheese melted in your mouth with the perfect serving of sour cream to eat with every bite. What can I say? If you’re looking for a tasteful—and delicious—dessert with fewer calories, the Classic is probably the way to go, in my opinion.

While that sweet surprise was absolutely delicious, we wanted to work off some of those calories. So we ended up making our last stop at Celebration Station, which is this amusement park full of rides (go-karts, water karts, roller coasters, etc.) and an arcade.

After entering the building, we decided to buy a couple hundred coins and explore the arcade. It was actually my first time ever visiting this place, so when I looked it up and saw the booming reviews, I was really anticipating exploring. And trust me, it didn’t disappoint!

What I find so captivating about arcades are all the bright lights. As someone who’s naturally attracted to colors, I got excited by seeing the games. There were so many games to play. And I have to admit that most of them are super addicting!

Me playing a creative game that tests your reflexes. I had a lot of fun with it!
This is a piano game where I had to press as many correct keys as possible in 40 (ish) seconds. I loved it!
Here’s just a cute pic that Goodmommy took when we first arrived.

One of the first games that I played was a massive claw machine that was full of large bags of 5,000 tickets. I tried it about three times, and I got a good grip on all three tries. But as always, the grabber didn’t seem like it was strong enough. Boy, I would’ve really loved those tickets; just imagine the prices I could’ve won.

After about a half hour of exploring, we decided to check out the additional games located upstairs, and Goodmommy’s eyes lit up when she spotted two huge pool tables. She’s told me several times how she used to play pool years ago, but I never had the opportunity to play pool with her. That is, until my birthday.

At first, I was struggling with getting a good grip on the pool stick, but eventually I got the swing of it, and I was able to hit the balls. Practice makes improvement!

But honestly, seeing how happy it made Goodmommy to play a game of pool with me is what really made it all worthwhile. Just look at her!

Finally, here’s a quick selfie of me to get a closer look at my outfit. Goodmommy did such an awesome job on my hair, didn’t she? She really made me feel special on my special day, and I am forever grateful to her for that.

I have to admit that this birthday was genuinely the best that I’ve ever had. Sure, I say that every time my b-day arrives, but my 2022 celebration is going to be hard to beat. I thank God for letting me and my Goodmommy having such a blast! I hope we get to make many, many more blessed birthday memories together, for many, many, many, many, many more years to come!

What are some of your favorite that you’ve done on your birthday? I would love to read your responses down below in the comments.

Have a beautiful and blessed day, y’all! God bless you all, and I will see you all next time!

Thank you, Lord, for another happy and blessed birthday! In Jesus’ name, Amen. ♡

30 Day Salad Challenge: Update #1

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Three weeks ago, me and Goodmommy decided that we wanted to begin eating more greens. So, we began our 1 month salad challenge on the sixth. And while I didn’t expect it, I’ve ended up absolutely loving this simple change in our eating habits. While most people don’t realize it, salad is such a versatile food–it can be super delicious if you just incorporate the right ingredients to make the flavors pop the way you need it.

When I announced the beginning of our salad challenge–and you can view that post HERE–I said that I was going to do a few updates along our journey to share some of the tweaks that we’ve made to experiment with our salad. And as always, I came through!

For the most part, our salads have stayed exactly the same since when we first started. The only change was this new Cesar salad dressing that we replaced with the French dressing. At first I was dreading the thought of trying something new, just because when I get used to something, I like to stick with it.

But it turned out, me and Goodmommy liked the Cesar salad even better than the sald with the French dressing, which was a huge shock for both of us! I think that was just another example of why it’s good to try new things, sometimes: they might be better than you ever imagined.

As I’m quite sure you can tell, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed taking on this challenge. In fact, me and Goodmommy agreed that we want to continue eating a salad every day from now on. I truly thank God for showing us how we can have fun with eating healthy. Keeping a healthy diet really has a positive effect on your mindset, as well. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us, in the future.

Have a beautiful and blessed day, everyone! See you next time! ♡

Food Review: Wendy’s Strawberry Frosty

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Happy Friday, everyone! This is Q’Zion, and welcome to my blog! ♡

Yesterday, I shared some of the special moments from my recent trip to the Museum of Science & Industry to kick of the second half of summer. But I never shared what we did after. Me and Goodmommy–my grandmother and guardian–are huge fans of Wendy’s chocolate frosty–which we both have grown up eating–so we were super excited to see how one of the newest items on their menu would compare. As a result, we stopped at the nearest Wendy’s to give it a try when our field trip was over.

It was a little tough to save this surprise for an entire day. But now, I’m super glad that I did; today I will be sharing my review of Wendy’s newly released–and highly anticipated–strawberry frosty.

As soon as I opened the top, I couldn’t help but be excited by the silky smooth baby pink dessert. And as soon as I took a sip, I was pleasantly surprised by the texture. I described it to Goodmommy as a mix between a strawberry milkshake and smooth ice cream. Not to mention that it was really cold, which was definitely refreshing in the warmer weather of the season.

Though the more sips I took, the more I realized that something was off about it. Don’t get me wrong; it was tasty. But the strawberry flavor wasn’t quite sitting with me as well as it would in a strawberry milkshake. Finally, Goodmommy pointed out the taste that I couldn’t describe: generic. And by that, I mean that it tasted artificial. As if they didn’t use real ingredients.

According to my research, the strawberry frosty is just Wendy’s vanilla frosty with strawberry puree mixed in, which I’m quite sure was a large factor in the fake taste that this new flavor portrays.

Now, did the artificial taste ruin the entire experience? For me, absolutely not. In fact, I think that the frosty would be a fairly decent treat for those who are looking for a quick, cold treat in the summer. But that and the buttload of sweetness is definitely noticeable as soon as you take a spoonful.

If you are a fan of sweet, strawberry-flavored desserts–like me–then I’m quite sure you’ll like several elements of this frosty. However, if you aren’t a huge fan of sugar or tend to stay away from things with a fake or artificial taste, then the case may be different for you. Goodmommy was one example of the last scenario.

As my final thoughts, while it is in no comparison whatsoever to Wendy’s chocolate frosty or the strawberry milkshake from Steak n’ Shake–two of my favorite cold fast food desserts–it was a good experience to try something new and refresh my palette with this newly released summer treat.

Wendy’s strawberry frosty will be available until the late summer, in case you are wondering. But just remember, if you’re going to get a frosty from Wendy’s, chocolate is probably the way to go.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars; not terrific, but not bad, either.

Have a beautiful and blessed day, everybody! Peace in! ♡

It’s National French Fry Day!

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Imagine potatoes sliced into skinny strips, thrown into a grill–giving their edges a crispy crunch–sprinkled with a pinch of salt and dipped in some homemade barbecue sauce. A fast food legend, this savory food is commonly known as french fries. And July 13th, also known as National French Fry Day, is the perfect day to celebrate this showstopper loved in countries all around the world.

As a girl who has grown up–and still is growing up–enjoying french fries, I have to admit that they are one of my absolute favorite foods to buy when I go to a fast food restaurant. Without them, the meal just feels incomplete, you know?

My personal favorite place to get french fries are from Chick-fil-a; not only do I really love waffle fries, but they have the perfect amount of crispiness and saltiness that is unbeat compared to every other fast food french fries that I’ve tasted.

Either way, any time I can get a delicious serving of french fries, I’m a happy camper.

LET’S CHAT~Where is your favorite place to get french fries? Also, what is your favorite dipping to pair with them?

Have a beautiful and blessed day, everybody! See you next time! ♡

7-Eleven Day – A Day for FREE Slurpees

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Hey, everyone! Happy Monday! ♡

All throughout the summer of this year, I’ve been writing a lot about how we can beat the heat. And one of the most fun ways to do just that is, you guessed it, eating and drinking. I’ve already given a few examples of some of my favorite desserts to eat and drink in the summer: ice cream, milkshakes, and fruit smoothies. But there is one particular option that I’ve failed to mention; slurpees!

Also known as slushies, slurpees are drinks made out of tiny ice crystals and flavored with a sweet, fruity, syrup. It’s kind of like the hybrid of a snow cone and a smoothie. This common cool beverage is a summer favorite in many western countries.

You may be wondering how slurpees could be relevant to today. Let me explain. In the United States, July 11 is considered National Free Slurpee Day. Why, you ask? Well, one of the most popular convenience convenience stores, 7-Eleven, celebrated its 95th anniversary today! And as a special treat for their loyal customers, they decided to give out free small slurpees from July 1-11.

Me and Goodmommy were originally going to stop by after we completed some of our weekly errands to get one for ourselves, but then we found out that this year 7-Eleven put an unexpected twist on this seemingly irresistible deal: the only way that you could redeem a free slurpee is to download the 7-Rewards app.

When me and Goodmommy found out about that small detail, we were like … yeah, no. But she did say that she could take me to Wawa—another example of a gas station convenience store that sells groceries, snacks, and a variety of beverages—to get one of their smoothies, instead. So, that’s something that we may be doing in the near future.

If any of you are fans of 7-Eleven, I hope you enjoyed a free slurpee of your own. But even if you aren’t, make sure to get yourself a little something this summer. After all, we could all use a cool, sweet treat once in a while.

LET’S CHAT~Have you ever heard of and/or tasted a slurpee? If so, did you like it? And if not, have you ever tasted anything similar?

Have a beautiful and blessed day, everybody! See you next time! Peace in! ♡

We started our 2022 salad challenge . . . ♡

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Hey, everybody! Welcome or welcome back to my blog! ♡

For those of you who were here when I wrote my 2022 goals, one of them was to eat salad 2-4 times every week. Let’s just say that I was a little slow with putting this goal into action. Still, the year is not over, and it’s never to late to make a nutritional change in your diet. Yesterday, Goodmommy and I began a 2022 salad challenge consisting of one salad per day for a sum of 31 days.

At first, I was a little skeptical to do this challenge, considering that we hadn’t yet mastered creating variety in our homemade salads. However, after Goodmommy showed me an article with some of the health benefits of eating a salad a day–including stronger bones and heart, fiber, weight control, and the regular perks that happen when you eat fruits and veggies every day–it helped me to understand that completing this challenge would be really good for us, in the long run.

Today, July 7th was the second day of our salad challenge, meaning that we started on July 6th and will have completed our salad challenge on August 6th. I took a picture of me and Goodmommy’s salad so you all can see what we incorporated.

This is my salad for today, which consists of green leaf lettuce and Romaine lettuce–one of the most nutritional leafy greens in the world– some air-friend chicken, and some French dressing. Even though I had the exact same thing yesterday, Goodmommy tossed all the ingredients together today, so I could automatically taste the improvement!

This is how Goodmommy’s lunch looked before her salad was tossed. It is pretty much exactly the same as mine with the exception of the sweet beets–the little red bits. Although I’m hesitant to add them into my salad, Goodmommy really enjoys them. I have to admit that they give the salad a really nice pop of color, which I like.

To keep you guys in-the-know about our progress with our salad challenge, I will try to post our salad once a week, so you all can see how we add more variety into our salads as we further master making them at home. I thank God that we have the resources to be able to buy the ingredients that we need to better our health.

While salad may not be many people’s first choice when it comes to lunch, it really is benefitial to keep your insides just as healthy as your outside. And in my opinion, when you are healthy on the inside, it eventually begins to show through in how you think on a daily basis. And the more that we can do to keep ourselves healthy and happy, the better.

LET’S CHAT~Have you ever done a nutritional challenge? Did you enjoy it?

Have a beautiful and blessed day, everybody! See you next time! ♡

Have you ever had an ice cream soda?

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As I stated in an earlier post, ice cream is one of the best desserts to have in the summer. But, what about beverages? While water or an energy drink like Gatorade are the best options, soda is one of the most well-known drinks for summer gatherings or road trips around town.

A scoop of ice cream or a can of soda can make for an occasional sweet treat underneath the rays of the sun . . . so could you imagine what they would taste like together? Ice cream sodas, also dubbed ice cream floats, are just the right mix of sweet and savory—perfect for summer time. And National Ice Cream Soda Day is the perfect opportunity to try one if you never have before.

Here is a “Fanta Ice Cream Float” made of orange Fanta soda and vanilla ice cream. You can check out the recipe and make it yourself by clicking on the image.

I remember drinking a root beer float (Root Beer soda with vanilla ice cream) once back in early elementary school while I went to school in person, and I remember really liking the different yet delectable combination. While vanilla is the standard flavor of ice cream to infuse with soda, there are so many ways to be creative with this dessert–no soda is off limits!

Fun, fresh and bursting with variety, an ice cream float is the perfect way to indulge in a little something sweet during scorching summer days.

LET’S CHAT~I’m curious, have you ever tasted (or heard of) an ice cream soda? If you have, what’s your favorite flavor of soda to incorporate in your floats? And if not, what flavor would you like to try, in the future (if any)?

Have a beautiful and blessed day everybody! See you next time! ♡

My Summer Bucket List [2022]

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What’s up, peeps? Summer break is coming much sooner than later, and that means it’s time to start brainstorming what we can do to pass the next couple months.That’s when the idea came to me…a summer bucket list!

Today, I will be sharing some of the things that I would be happy to accomplish this summer. While this list is purely for entertainment purposes, feel free to use some of the points here as some inspiration for your personal list, as well. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get started!

1. Pay more frequent visits to the library.

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve stepped foot into a library. But to be honest, I’m ready to kill that streak–I want some new books! Whether I go to my local library, or add a few books to my personal collection from a bookstore, reading is definitely on the radar for what I want to do this summer.

2. Go to the beach at least once.

Even before COVID hit, me and my family have never been too much of beach-goers. That being said, if there’s any time to hit the beach it’s summertime. Having some fun in the sun will definitely make for a refreshing summer day.

3. Read the Bible more often.

In the mornings, I want to commit my time to God by spending a few minutes reading His Word. Summer time is about growth and gaining wisdom, and there is no better way to do that than reading the Bible and spending time with my Heavenly Father.

4. Do weekly art activities.

As I stated in a recent post of mine, weekends and breaks from school are my favorite times to indulge in my hobbies. To be fair, I’ve been painting, drawing, and crafting pretty frequently already. But I still want to put in the effort to continue to perfect my art skills over summer break.

5. Enjoy the great outdoors–and take lots of photos while doing so.

One of my favorite parts of the season of summer is the photogenic views. Nature is flourishing everywhere you look. And you know what that means; I’m going to have a lot of mini photoshoots whenever I get the chance.

6. Have family game nights with Goodmommy.

Family game nights with Goodmommy are always a blast, but it’s dawned on me that it’s been a while since we’ve actually had one. This summer, I’d like to spend more of my free time with my family as we do fun things together.

7. Go to the aquarium.

Do I miss going on family trips like this. I’ve had this on my mind for a little while, but I think that the weather and amount of leisure time of my break will be the perfect time to pay a visit to our local aquarium for the first time in years.

8. Reach a minimum of 125 followers.

It truly is a huge blessing from God that I already have almost 100 followers! YAYY!!! Since the summer will give me a substantial amount of time to improve my blog, I am hoping that we can reach at least 125 followers before school resumes.

9. Start journaling or scrapbooking

I would really love it if I got an instant camera, that way I could store some of my memories from my summer into a scrapbook or journal–it would be a great opportunity for me to get a little crafty.

10. Take a tour of my desired college

Since I’ll be entering freshman year (9th grade) this August, it’s about time that I start looking at colleges. Me and Goodmommy have already scheduled a private tour of the college that I have in mind, and I’m super excited about it!

This post was such a fun idea that I’m so glad that I was able to bring to life! I can already tell that this summer is going to be an amazing time filled with family, laughter, love, and lots of fun memories.

Furthermore, I’m excited to see how much of my bucket list I was able to fulfill when my 2022 summer break comes to an end.

LET’S CHAT~What are some of the things you want to do this summer?

Have a blessed day, y’all! Peace in! ✨

Happy Resurrection Day ♡

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Thank God for a beautiful Resurrection Day! Me and Goodmommy, as well as some of our family, had a great time during praise and worship at today’s church service, this morning. All though we were tired from waking up so early, it is always a blessing to be in the House of the Lord with other followers of Christ.

Despite the fact that we are sinners, and we have all fell short of God’s Glory, He sent His one and only son to come on Earth and pay for our sins with the ultimate sacrificial love.

Although I didn’t write the poem the I will be sharing today (which is instead from an online article) it summed up what was in my heart perfectly. I hope you all enjoy it! 💛

He was bruised and brought healing!

He was pierced and eased pain!

He was persecuted and brought freedom!

He was dead and brought life!

He reigns and brings Peace!

The world can’t understand him,

The armies can’t defeat Him,

The schools can’t explain Him, and

The leaders can’t ignore Him.

Herod couldn’t kill Him,

The Pharisees couldn’t confuse Him, and

The grave couldn’t hold Him!

Nero couldn’t crush Him,

Hitler couldn’t silence Him,

Other religions can’t replace Him, and

The world can’t explain Him away!

He is light, love, longevity, and Lord.

He is Goodness, Kindness, Gentleness, and God.

He is Holy, Righteous, mighty, powerful

He is Jesus, the Sweetest most powerful Name that I know, and I L💛VE Him!

Have a beautiful and blessed Easter Sunday, everybody!

Remember that God is love, and regardless of what we do, His love for us will never falter; this is what He showed us when the Son of God, Jesus Christ, died, rose, and lived again. Then, now, and forever. 💐

The Classic, Crunchy, Any-time Snack: Cereal

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It’s no surprise that cereal is one of the best–and most popular–breakfast picks in America, and for good reason. Cereal is quick to fix, delicious, crunchy, and fills you just enough to hold you until lunch. Besides, all the time is cereal time; you can eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even as a snack.

And since it’s National Cereal Day, why not talk about this popular, simple, and forever classic treat.

The Rice Krispie Treat Recipe

Rice Krispies are probably some of the most delicious cereals out there. And Rice Krispie Treats are delicious. Here’s the classic recipe for this crisp treat that the whole family is bound to love.

  1. Melt butter.
  2. Add your marshmellows (can be generic or name-brand, depending on what you like.)
  3. Mix it up lightly.
  4. Add the Rice Krispie Treats into the mixture.
  5. Mix it up until everything is evenly combined.
  6. Pour the mixture in a 9 x 12 ceramic dish.
  7. You may either let it cool on your kitchen counter or in the fridge.
  8. Enjoy your delicious Rice Krispie Treats.

And finally, I’m curious: What is your favorite cereal? I decided to make a poll with some of the most popular brands. Enjoy!

Writing this short and sweet quick read was a lot of fun, and I really hope you all found it as pleasant as I did. Although I haven’t eaten much cereal lately (I honesty got tired of it after binging it for months, and I’m thankful that now, I eat a nice, hot breakfast every morning LOL) I must say that cereal will always have a place on my favorite breakfast foods list.

It is definitely a food that most of us have grown up with. And the things that we do (and eat) as children tend to be the highlights that stick with us for a lifetime.

Thanks for reading; have a beautiful and blessed day, y’all! 🥣