and Ollie Owl, How to Be a Good Pal
We are rocking readers…like rocking our way through the alphabet on a jet stream.
That sounds fast, doesn’t it?
I’m just a fast kind of girl.
Just ask anyone in my family.
I was always the fastest one on the team.
Well, as long as I was the ONLY one on the team.
It’s true…I was as slow as a snail in a molasses pond.
I just made that up, by the way.
That would be slow.
But at 53, I don’t have to worry about being slow or fast.
I just have to worry about being a good friend.
Wait.
What do jets, snails, molasses and friends have in common?
They are all in my brain hitting this blog post at the same time.
Did I mention I WAS a fast typist?
THAT is a true statement.
But I’m also a good friend.
But I wasn’t always.
One time, in middle school, I betrayed a friend’s trust by telling something she had confided in me about.
I don’t really remember what it was…but that part of the story really isn’t important.
What’s important is I will never forget how it made me feel when she found out.
It was never my intention to hurt my friend…my 7th grade Woodlawn Junior High friend, but I did, nonetheless.
Did I mention I was Miss Woodlawn Junior High?
Yes, you are actually reading the blog of Ward 8 royalty.
But the real story here, the real lesson, was my friend forgave me, like without even a thought, and we remain friends to this day.
And as a result of my junior high (that’s what we called it back in the day) poor decision making skills, we have “Ollie Owl, How to Be a Good Pal.”
Because to have a good friend you have to be a good friend.
Right?
And thankfully, I still have my lifelong friend.
Speaking of friends, check out this Alphabet Mom friend.
Oh, wait, that’s an Oatmeal charcuterie board model.
There’s a big demand for these guys, I’m not even kidding.
And were we ever lucky to get him, or what?
So, what is our model modeling?
For the letter “O” we are having an oatmeal bar.
I made this one on my charcuterie board, but you can absolutely do this on your island or your table or buffet.
I like things to match…
…I’m a little OCD like that.
So I headed out to the dollar store and picked up some small clear bowls and pitchers for a minimal investment.
Like a $10 investment.
Here’s what inspired me.
My brother and his family are here for a few weeks.
Thank you, Jesus.
And they love it when “Cha-Cha” gets creative in the kitchen, right?
Like with the S’More charcuterie board last week.
I absolutely won the “Aunt of the Universe” award for that one.
That was before we decided to do breakfast for dinner one night.
Best time to eat breakfast if you ask me.
And when the kids wanted oatmeal…I surprised them with oatmeal Utopia.
And did we ever have all the fun.
And boy it was healthy!
Well, except for the chocolate and caramel sauce.
Oh…and the sugars.
And maybe the mini chocolate chips.
Or the whipping cream.
And syrup.
So, except for ALL of that, it was healthy, cause oatmeal is heart healthy, right?
Wait.
We DID have fruit.
So, for my health nuts out there…you can check that box because we were eating “almost” clean.
With strawberries.
Blueberries.
Apples.
Raisins.
And bananas.
We were doing all kinds of clean eating.
Until I broke out the variations using the ingredients on the oatmeal bar.
And then we weren’t.
For instance, the Oatmeal charcuterie board model wanted the “Paula Deen.”
The “Paula Deen” is oatmeal, brown sugar, cream, bananas, and pecans with a drizzle of caramel.
I think he liked it.
And then we had the gluten free vegan bowl that was JUST oatmeal and fruit.
Wait.
Nothing else?
Right…then someone had the caramel apple surprise.
Wait.
I promise there’s oatmeal in this one…oatmeal, cream, brown sugar, apples, cinnamon, pecans and a drizzle of caramel.
Then there was the chocolate covered strawberry bowl…with cream, brown sugar, strawberries and chocolate syrup.
Oh. And oatmeal.
Then there was the plain ole’ Jeffrey Todd who had a bowl of oatmeal (with brown sugar and cream) with raisins on top.
(Insert yawn here…a little boring UNLESS you are Jeffrey Todd.)
Then there were a few bowls I didn’t get pictures of because I was busy being a chemist and mixing and experimenting.
One of which was the banana split that had oatmeal, cream, brown sugar, strawberries, chocolate chips, bananas and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
Then someone had the banana nut muffin with oatmeal, cream, brown sugar, bananas, pecans, cinnamon and a drizzle of caramel sauce.
Lastly, someone had the blueberry-banana nut muffin with oatmeal, cream, brown sugar, bananas, blueberries, pecans and a drizzle of maple syrup.
I honestly think the list could go on and on…but here’s what I know.
With a little bit of effort, my family had the most fun doing this.
Even the kids who ordinarily wouldn’t put a lip on a bite of oatmeal, were making their bowls like they were oatmeal chemists.
And preparation was so easy, I literally walked down the grocery aisles (well, ran actually, because of COVID, you know) looking for different ingredients to add to the bowls.
And to quote my little Maryland nephew, “Cha-Cha, this is the best day of my LIFE.”
Well now, who can compete with that?
And if you just aren’t an oatmeal person (and if you aren’t, I’m not sure we can be friends), then perhaps you will just stay around for the tater tots like this little one.
But if you do go for it, you will likely be back for your second bowl…just like our Oatmeal charcuterie model.
I’m guaranteeing you will, too.