Happy Fathers Day .....

Father's Day is bittersweet when your Dad is longer with you and you only have your memories. My Dad & I were in the same profession, so we had a special bond that only we understood and appreciated. Thinking back to earlier Fathers Day, remembering some of the goofy gifts I gave him, seeing that big smile no matter what it was always brings a smile to my face.

The photo montage below is one I did for a Photoshop class I took this year showing him as a young boy, my parents wedding, Dad with Governor Branstad (a good friend of his), me and my youngest boy who was named after him..Nicholas Wayne, and the center photo is my favorite one I have of him. In the word "Dad" is an old photo of Dad in his early twenties with his car at the time.



If you're lucky enough to still have your Dad with you, remember the absolute best gift you can give him today is to spend the day with him! He and you will remember these special days more by doing something together than any material gift you could ever give him!

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it ... Dad
Author Unknown

I'd also like to give a little tribute to my Godfather, Jim Foley. He died in a car accident shortly after I was born so I never had the chance to get to know him. Even though he never had the opportunity to have kids of his own he is still an "honorary" father in my eyes. This was the last picture taken of him before he died.


Have a Wonderful Fathers Day !!

Flashback & Foodie Friday

Combining Flashback Friday with Suzy from Kitchen Bouquet and Foodie Friday with Gollum from Designs by Gollum this week. Check out both of these blogs to see great recipes!

This week is another cupcake that I have made in the past. With the 4th of July coming up fast, I have been going through my recipes to decide which favorites I will be making to take to our family gathering! These cream-filled cupcakes are a fav of mine and as you can imagine..there's never one left!



The cream-filled cupcake is one I found at Taste of Home, but I didn't use the frosting with their recipe. Instead, I used the super creamy recipe of Magnolia's Chocolate Buttercream . BEWARE...this frosting is very rich, very creamy and very lethal!! If you're going to have the richness of a cream-filled cupcake, you may as well go all the way and finish it off with a fantastic topping!! You will not be disappointed.

Here's a photo of some blooms from one of the local nurseries last year when I was trying to decide what to get.... love coneflowers!


Thanks for stopping by and I'm looking forward to another event of Kathleen's from Cuisine Kathleen "Show Me Your White Event" on June 23rd! Check out her blog for details...

Mosaic Monday

For the third time I am joining Mary@Little Red House for her Mosaic Monday! Make sure you stop by her blog for all the links of some wonderful mosaics!

My mosaic this week is a look back at my son's wedding this past fall... A beautiful day, Nick was all smiles and Carrie's dress was amazing. The large photo was one of their engagement photos....

Kick-Off to Summer BBQ - Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Late entry but I'm here... I'm joining Debbie at Mountain Breaths in her first blog event "A Kick-off to Summer BBQ" Make sure you check out her blog to link to all the participants, you'll see some mouth-watering recipes you'll definitely want to make this summer!

My recipe is one I found on Canadian Living for Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts! I developed a taste for Goat Cheese and now can't seem to find enough uses for it! Since I didn't want a sloppy presentation I didn't get carried away with the goat cheese spread..just enough to get the unique flavor.


In addition I used another recipe from the same website for Barbecued Mini Potatoes, using little red potatoes! These had a little crunch on the outside and nice and soft on the inside..perfect. Also some fresh asparagus I am eating almost at every meal since they are in season. It helps when I have my own personal source to get as much as I want (my sister, Bev).



For dessert I couldn't find a recipe for the grill that "spoke" to me so I whipped up a vanilla pudding with a caramel swirl of topping sauce....topped off with a white chocolate raspberry mold. I've been waiting to use this new mold set I purchased last winter and they turned out so well, flipped them over and all came tumbling out!




Another event is just around the corner... join Kathleen from Cuisine Kathleen "Show Me Your White Event" on June 23rd! Check out Kathleen's site for details..for some reason I don't think she means for me to show photos of my "big-girl whites" !! Even without that..it will be a beautiful event I'm sure, we can all drool over everyone elses tablesettings!!


Thanks Debbie for hosting this event - I've already copied a number of recipes from other participants and can't wait to try them! I am kind of rushing this post so please forgive me for not getting into many details....