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Mac and Cheese Toppings

As I’ve shared, I’m currently in the process of creating my second children’s book, Mac and Cheese in Outer Space. My wonderful Illustrator, Winda Mulyasari, is still working her magic to make my cheesy, outer space vision come to life. Please believe me when I tell you that the first illustrations she’s sent me are AMAZING!

While I was writing this book, I challenged myself to try and think of all the different toppings that someone could put on their macaroni and cheese. Like most kids, my children preferred the straight-up noodles and cheese when they were little. Although, I had gotten pretty good at sneaking veggies in there like our dear grandma does in my first book, Mac and Cheese, Please, Please, Please.

Now that my kids are older, their go-to topping is Franks RedHot. Personally, I’m probably more traditional in my appreciation for perfectly seasoned and buttery breadcrumbs.

These are a few of the macaroni and cheese toppings I came up with:

• Hot sauce
• Cracked pepper
• Breadcrumbs
• Ranch (I’m from the midwest)
• Buffalo sauce
• Barbecue sauce
• Taco meat and/or sauce (does this change the dish too much?)
• Bacon
• Chopped up hot dogs
• Chunked up chicken (especially with aforementioned buffalo sauce)
• Kielbasa sausage
• Flamin Hot Cheetos
• Broccoli
• Squash
• Green onion
• Rotel
• MORE CHEESE!!!!!!

What are your favorite mac and cheese toppings?

My First Author Reading

Cheesy greetings! While my wonderful illustrator, Winda Mulyasari, is hard at work making my crazy second book come to life, I’ve been busy checking a first off my list – My first reading!

Last month I had the opportunity to participate in my first official author reading! It was at a local daycare center my children attended years ago. I have kept in touch with a few of the teachers and the former site director, but I was floored when they asked me to come provide an “in-person field trip” for reading month. In preparation for the event, I printed off these super cute little bookmarks to give out to the kiddos at the daycare and they were a huge hit!

Luckily, my kids were still on spring break that day, so I dragged them along with me so they could visit with their old teachers and see their momma doing something rad. My oldest also served as my photographer during the event.

It was SO fun! The kiddos loved it and my heart just about BURST into pieces when the preschool class started reciting the story back to me during the reading. Many of them knew my book by heart and I know I have their teachers to thank for that!

On top of that amazingness, last weekend I vacationed up north at the family cabin that inspired me to seriously try writing romance back in 2020. It was a lovely girl’s weekend that involved wine, painting, thrifting, NCAA women’s college basketball, a brewery, and a meat raffle at the local Legion (yes, that’s a thing). I didn’t win any meat, nor did I get any writing accomplished, but it was a wonderful getaway filled with laughter and fun.

Until next time!

Fishing Trip Projects

Every fall my husband goes on his annual fall fishing trip with his dad. They head up north to brave the first chill of fall in hopes of catching walleye, perch and whatever else tugs on their line.

This fall fishing trip has become not only a tradition for my husband, but also for me. You see, I have a tendency of using the fall fishing trip to start projects. Not just any projects, these are the projects that I wouldn’t otherwise tackle. Painting, reorganizing, and ripping shelves off of walls. Don’t ask me why! it’s not that I can’t do these projects with my husband present. It’s just that I feel some weird desire to be like, “Look at this awesome thing I did while you were gone all weekend!”

It’s also worth noting that I do not properly plan out these things. It typically starts with me ripping a shelf off a bathroom wall or impulsively deciding to paint a bedroom.

I guess it’s fair to say that what I tackled this year wasn’t something that I could have planned to do, but I’m SO GLAD I did it.

I FINISHED my first draft of the next Mac and Cheese, Please, Please, Please book. It’s sooo fun!! I’ll be working again with Winda Mulyasari, the illustrator that I partnered with on my first children’s book.

After two years of working on this book, this feels like a MUCH larger accomplishment than a freshly painted bathroom.