So while I have committed to dropping a blog post each Thursday, I haven't really explained that in order to come up with content for said blog post, I will have to dip into my personal life and all the things that come with it. If you know me personally, flowers just really aren't my jam...but food, heck yes.  People say they love me when delivering coffee, my favorite candy, coffee, did I mention coffee?  
Donuts used to also be really high on that list, but after going gluten free over a year ago, I've moved on to bacon...which by all accounts can be deemed just as amazing as donuts as far as deliciousness goes. 
This summer I was introduced to 'Million Dollar Bacon' and then my sister's bacon bouquets...and that's it...my life has been changed forever by the power of pork.  So, I am putting the recipe below for those of you whose lives need to be changed by that power, those of you that are gluten free, or those of you who just love a good breakfast meat...I am not here to judge, I am just here to pass along a life changing snack.  
And, if my hubs is reading this, I am ready for a bacon bouquet delivery any day of the week.  

​Bacon Bouquets
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  

1. Place a wire baking rack on top of a cookie sheet.  Begin by laying each strip of bacon on the wire rack a half inch apart.  
2. Use a basting brush to brush the top side with maple syrup, and then sprinkle on the brown sugar…note that the recipe calls for quite a bit of both because you will do this to each side more than once. 
3. Place in the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes.  
4. Remove and flip, repeating step 2. 
5. Repeat step 3.
6. Repeat step 4. 

Bacon takes approximately 30-36 minutes; sprinkle lightly with cayenne pepper if you like a little heat. Wrap in parchment to transport, tie lightly with twine. 
 
1 Pound Thick Cut Bacon (Plain or Smoked)
½Cup Pure Maple Syrup
¼Cup Brown Sugar (Light or Dark)
¼- ½Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (Optional)

Stay...In The Moment

​What is it about the start of school?  For me it’s just one division, a  long fence to which the following regularly play in my head over and over and over…
 
Conversation ONE with myself…
Yay!! Freedom…cue all sorts of music, cheers, and a general feel of optimism.
Followed by…Ugh, why are my kids growing so fast and how are they another grade further along and year older?
 
Conversation TWO with myself…
Whoooohooo! Routine, because the casualty of summer has been slowing causing my parental nerves to twitch and now we can all get back to doing the things and knowing what’s ahead.
Then instantly…Oh, heaven help me!  Now I actually have to be on time for something….and the homework and activities and the packing lunches and…
 
Conversation THREE with myself…
Yasssss!  Here’s to us getting up, starting the morning right, eating breakfast together and heading out the door at a reasonable time to start the day right!
Immediately afterward…see above…I actually have to be on time. Also, the amount of hustle required to get a preteen girl and 2 boys age 6 and 8 out the door for ANYTHING is, in itself, like an act of congress.  
 
But here we are again…at the beginning of it all. In what seems like the beginning of something and the end of another, the exciting expectations for what the school year will bring and the downfalls of letting the summer magic go. This has never been more real than this year…as we head into two different schools, middle and elementary…as I am able to walk the halls in the school where I once had kindergarten (cue cheesy mom music and the groans of preteen daughter now attending said school and having to tag along down her mother’s memory lane).
 
So if you too are riding the fence, straddling the line, and generally feeling all the feels that a new school year brings, I’m right there with you. Cheers to you parents, grandparents, friends of those who have kids, and students because whether we like it or not, it’s here and I fully intend to walk that fence line until at least second semester!
 
 Stay...In The Moment