Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Secret to a Great Breakfast

This is sponsored content by BlogHer and Kelloggs.


Imagine living in a home with four kids, one more on the way, an amazing husband and a very crazy schedule.  You would find yourself busy from the time your eyes pop open until the time your head hits the pillow at the end of the day, whether it be driving your kids to sports, making dinners, helping with homework, playing games, cleaning the house or one of the other hundred things that remain on your never-ending “To Do” list.  Then imagine, in the midst of all of this chaos, a break; imagine a day where you get to sleep in and leisurely make and enjoy your breakfast, get ready for the day and decide what that day holds for you.  In our home, this beautiful break in the schedule falls on Saturday, and it is always a very welcomed change!

On Saturday morning, Monte and I usually roll out of bed around 8:00am, which is a wonderful change from our normal rising time of 6:00am!  We head out to the kitchen, make some coffee, pour a glass of juice and start fixing breakfast for the kids.  Since our kids spend the entire week taking care of preparing their own breakfast, we like to treat them to something special on Saturday mornings, and that something special is almost always pancakes!  Pancake preparation is an art that Monte has mastered, so I most often leave it to him to take care of breakfast.  We spend the better part of the morning serving up pancakes to our hungry brood, helping Colin cut them up, making sure the syrup gets passed and they are all sufficiently fed.  Once our herd has moved out from feeding time, Monte and I will then prepare breakfast for ourselves and sit down to some peace and quiet.  Oftentimes Monte will sit and enjoy the remaining pancakes that our kids didn’t eat, topping them with applesauce.  He claims that this secret is entirely delicious, but in the times I’ve tried it, I most definitely have not enjoyed it!  I am not a pancake lover like the rest of my family; I don’t know if it’s because the syrup is too sweet and the applesauce isn’t enough, or if it’s just because of the sheer quantity of them that I’ve had since Monte and I were married and I moved in with the family, but pancakes are just NOT my thing!  Depending on my mood I will either make myself eggs and toast or pour myself a bowl of cereal.  I know that some of you must be wondering how I can really enjoy cereal when I eat it the other six days of the week, but I truly do!  I’ve always been a fan of cereal for any time of the day, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner, so enjoying it on our relaxing Saturday is not something that takes away from the beauty of the morning, but instead it adds to the flow.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, our secret to a great breakfast has nothing to do with what we’ve prepared or how we’ve prepared it, but rather our great breakfasts come because it’s the one morning of the week that our entire family is together and relaxed and there is practically NOTHING that can beat the feeling of harmony in our home on those mornings!

Ellis, having already finished his breakfast, is heading to enjoy his book, pajama clad and all!

Do you have a secret to a great breakfast that you can share?

--

Here's the fun part!  With this review, I get to give away a $100 Visa Gift Card to one of you fabulous readers!  It's incredibly simple to enter, and you can have up to two entries, here's how:


- To enter, leave a comment about your secret to a great breakfast.

- For a second entry, you can:
·         Tweet about this post with a link to it (and put your tweet URL in a separate comment below)
·         Blog about this post with a link to it (and put your blog post URL in a separate comment below)
·         Sweepstakes ends 5 PM PST on October 18, 2010.

The winner will be chosen using www.random.org.  To view the official sweepstakes rules, visit www.blogher.com/kelloggs-rules-10.

Make sure to visit the BlogHer Reviewer Round Up page to check out what other bloggers had to say and to take advantage of 23 more chances to win a $100 Visa Gift Card! BlogHer.com Kellogg exclusive offers page.

Mom's Breakfast Club was started to help educate moms and families about kids' cereal and share the scoop on their nutritional benefits and ingredients.  To learn more about the program, visit www.loveyourcereal.com.


98 comments:

  1. We love waffles & fruit.

    mami2jcn at gmail dot com

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  2. I love pancakes, and french toast and waffles!! Bring on the carbs! :)

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  3. as you said just being able to spend time with the hubby for breakfast is awesome!!

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  4. Our special breakfasts are sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits.
    MCantu1019@aol.com

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  5. When we have a special breakfast- I make berries and cream French toast!

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  6. I think just being together as a family makes breakfast special, since we don't get to do that every day. But homemade eggs, sausage and hashbrowns doesn't hurt either! :)

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  7. The most special breakfast to me is a Scottish breakfast because there is so much of so much. And yes, I know I said 'so much of so much.' I meant it!

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  8. I really have no secrets to breakfast.
    We're a pretty laid back family on weekends. We cook favorites like biscuits & gravy or pancakes. Since it's the time we can eat at a leisurely pace.

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  9. Saturday mornings are the only mornings where we're all at home with no place to be, so I like to make breakfast burritos or pancakes for The Family. My husband doesn't eat breakfast Monday thru Friday, so it's a nice treat for him.

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  10. The only secrets for a good breakfast for me is to make sure there are clean bowls and spoons so we can have a great bowl of cereal

    rsmstahley @ adelphia dot net

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  11. Sounds like your family has a great weekend breakfast tradition going.

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  12. For a very special breakfast we make French toast---yum

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  13. http://twitter.com/#!/fostertam/status/27277605736

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  14. My secret to a great breakfast is adding 2 extras to a favorite. We love scrambled eggs and salsa. If I add some grated cheese and roll them in tortillas, YUM!!!

    sksweeps (at) earthlink (dot) net

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  15. It may not be The Secret to a great breakfast, but bacon really helps it along in our house.
    chainmail(at) iwon(dot)com

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  16. I tweeted
    http://twitter.com/The_Sunshyn/status/27283623019

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  17. I always eat Special K cereal with strawberries and SOYMILK. 1/2 the fam is lactose intolerant so soymilk is our answer! I never get tired of it. It's just so delicious!

    graceybanban [at] yahoo [dot] com

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  18. My secret is making trying to make everyones favorite item when I do our big Sunday breakfast, I try to include all the special breakfast items they all enjoy, my husband loves omlets, my son loves french toast and my daughters favorite is biscuits & gravy so when I make a Sunday breakfast I make it all, and then they nibble on leftovers throughout the day, I've been told I spoil them too much but I enjoy making them happy and food seems to be the one thing we all agree on, I dont do this every Sunday but most of them, & I also make a quick breakfast desert which is usually Cinnamon rolls because they All love them,thanks for the giveaway

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  19. tweeted

    http://twitter.com/#!/deb126/status/27335332596

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  20. Waffles are our secret to a great breakfast because everyone LOVES waffles in this household!!

    pittsy82@hotmail.com

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  21. Tweeted http://twitter.com/pittsy82/status/27341008547

    pittsy82@hotmail.com

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  22. My husband says that meat is the secret to a great breakfast...he seriously rarely eats breakfast unless there is some type of meat involved :-/

    khmorgan_00 [at] yahoo [dot] com

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  23. The only secret i have is I add cinnamon to my pancake mix, cant live without it.
    sweokgrl@gmail.com

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  24. I tweeted
    sweokgrl@gmail.com
    http://twitter.com/bdiane34/status/27373729258

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  25. We usually have cereal for Breakfast around here. We do not usually have anything special on the weekends except we occassionally buy doughnuts for Sunday mornings! The doughnuts seem to motivate the kids to get ready for church on time!

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  26. I'd love to be entered into this great giveaway!
    Some thing we do to make breakfast just a little bit greater/healthier is mix ground flax seed into our oatmeal. It tastes great and is sooo good for you!

    missylovsjesus at yahoo dot com

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  27. We always have cereal and fresh fruit on hand. I also keep pancakes in the freezer for a change and most of my grandkids love my soft oven cinnamon toast

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  28. We put cinnamon in practically everything--it's supposed to help with digestion plus it tastes good!

    Thanks!
    kmassman gmail

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  29. My kids love pancakes too! Before I had my mastectomy a few weeks ago, I premade an entire box of pancakes and froze them so that the kids could just pop a few in the microwave whenever they wanted them.

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  30. Homemade is my secret. When I am really craving a good breakfast, there is nothing like real fried potatoes and scrambled eggs that I have chopped and mixed and cooked!
    Angie
    one 4 earth at aol dot com

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  31. I tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/FotoMacro/status/27443105339
    Angie
    one 4 earth at aol dot com

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  32. hmm a secret? I would have to say what I cook in. Cooking in only cast iron pans makes breakfast non-toxic and so super tasty!
    Scott
    nynekats at aol dot com

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  33. tweet http://twitter.com/#!/RePurrPussed/status/27447411842
    Scott
    nynekats at aol dot com

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  34. This isn't really a secret but ask kids what they want to eat.. It makes breakfast sooo much easier.
    dgoodridge84@yahoo.com

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  35. tweet
    http://twitter.com/#!/Grandma3710/status/27464352467

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  36. Making sure we're up early enough to actually eat! scg00387 at yahoo dot com

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  37. http://twitter.com/#!/DesMoinesDealin/status/27503554711 scg00387 at yahoo dot com

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  38. I love having a big breakfast - and having the time to enjoy it! Most mornings it's a tiny and hurried meal, so it's special to sit back and enjoy an omelet, fresh fruit, maybe waffles or vanilla french toast...
    adrianecoros(at)gmail(dot)com

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  39. tweet! http://twitter.com/LAMusing/status/27516134004
    adrianecoros(at)gmail(dot)com

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  40. Our secret is actually sitting down to have breakfast together, rather than eating on the run
    bingomamanorma(at)gmail(dot)com

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  41. Our secret is frying eggs in cooking spray...no added fat...big secret, I know...lol

    leahforlove(at)aol(dot)com

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  42. http://twitter.com/#!/leahforlove/status/27545857876

    leahforlove(at)aol(dot)com

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  43. Adding a banana to my protein shake makes it a whole lot more palatable.

    scoopster(nospam)at yahoo dot com

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  44. Tweet
    http://twitter.com/LuigiFranco/status/27561334873

    scoopster(nospam)at yahoo dot com

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  45. On the weekend I make batches of mini frittatas in muffin tins. I use eggs, bacon or sausage, cheese, potatoes and chives - or anything else I have extra of in the fridge. I bake them up and then pack them up and freeze them. In the mornings the kids pop them in the toaster and they are like a gourmet breakfast each day. They love them, and really get their day off to a good start.

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  46. I make omelets on the weekends, everyone chooses what they want in their omelets.

    s2s2 at comcast dot net

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  47. http://twitter.com/susan1215/status/27570126074

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  48. Let the kids pick what they want to eat sometimes
    tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

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  49. tweet
    http://twitter.com/ChelleB36/status/27574223561
    tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

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  50. Have everything ready before anyone gets up!

    debbiebellows[at]gmail[dot]com

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  51. tweeted

    http://twitter.com/bellows22/status/27575244377

    debbiebellows[at]gmail[dot]com

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  52. A great breakfast is easy to make!!!

    kclements2001 (at) hotmail (dot) com

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  53. My secret to a great breakfast is to just relax and enjoy it! :)

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  54. Tweeted the giveaway:

    http://twitter.com/#!/calidreamin87/status/27622888933

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  55. I melt butter in the bottom of the pan to flavor scrambled eggs. Cooking spray might be good to keep them from sticking but butter makes them taste good.

    ewalsh40(at)gmail(dot)com

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  56. Granola is our family staple. Sometimes we just pour some soymilk over it and have granola cereal. Or we mix it up in our yogurt with some fruit and make a yogurt parfait. It is also delicious on ice cream (but not for breakfast though!).
    mmburdette22@yahoo.com

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  57. We love to make banana pancakes. It's a secret how good they really are until you taste them!
    nuthouse(at)centurytel(dot)net

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  58. tweeted: http://twitter.com/KerryBishop/status/27665391599
    nuthouse(at)centurytel(dot)net

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  59. My "secret" is to add ground flaxseed to our cereal to enjoy the added health benefits.

    wolfcarol451(at)gmail(dot)com

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  60. My secret was always brown sugar in the oatmeal and a glass of orange juice every morning I could to make sure they got a good hot start for the day.
    gmissycat@yahoo.com

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  61. Tweeted here
    http://twitter.com/#!/gmissycat/status/27677719033
    gmissycat@yahoo.com

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  62. Having coffee on the ready before and during breakfast.

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  63. If we had a secret, it would be to eat a bit later. It's nice to wait a bit after waking up to let the appetite perk up ;)

    Thank you.

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  64. http://twitter.com/#!/won2x/status/27687131877

    Thank you.

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  65. for me it's bacon they both like it..it goes with cereal or pancakes or bagels



    nannypanpan at sbcglobal.net

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  66. No Secret here Keeping it simple with hot and cold cereal and a piece of fruit.

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  67. http://twitter.com/sodahoney/status/27696638791

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  68. My secret is to let my partner cook! It always tastes a million times better :)

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  69. My secret to a great breakfast is waking up early enough to head to the pancake house for a stack. Rarely happens but when it does the day begins blissfully :)

    deeg131 at gmail dot com

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  70. blogged :)

    http://deegee13.xanga.com/734223976/breakfast-campaign-giveaways/

    deeg131 at gmail dot com

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  71. I love the big country breakfast, with lots of coffee and or tea, and good conversation.

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  72. My secret to a good breakfast is making sure that everything gets cooked or done around the same time so there's no cold dishes or prolonged waiting!
    sazzyfrazz at gmail dot com

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  73. I tweeted
    http://twitter.com/tracylr233/status/27709706487

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  74. Ziploc Omelettes is our secret. Quick, easy and cook better than trying to flip them in a pan
    sahmofdq@gmail.com

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  75. Tweeted
    http://twitter.com/#!/SAHMofDQ/status/27714766248
    sahmofdq@gmail.com

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  76. Bacon is my secret to a great breakfast, at least that what my husband and kids would say.
    HobartsMama {AT} AOL.COM

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  77. I posted this on my blog.
    http://jennaiscorner.blogspot.com/p/kelloggs-moms-breakfast-club.html
    HobartsMama [at] aol.com

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  78. I don't really have a secret to a great breakfast, but add a little cinnamon to your breakfast to keep blood sugars level

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  79. Tweeted

    http://twitter.com/jillyrh/status/27719328823

    Thanks

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  80. The secret to a good breakfast is have it be fast, filling, and lasting. We like bagels because you can eat them on the run and not leave crumbs

    Email address is in blogger profile

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  81. I tweeted http://twitter.com/#!/bsw529/status/27724657611

    Email address is in blogger profile

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  82. My secret is mommy must have coffee first! Otherwise I can be a little grumpy. :)

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  83. MY SECRET TO A GREAT BREAKFAST IS DRIVING THROUGH MCDONALDS. SERIOUSLY. I CAN'T COOK LOL kytah00@yahoo.com

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  84. SECOND ENTRY TWEET http://twitter.com/#!/kytah00/status/27753954095 kytah00@yahoo.com

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  85. A little bit of french vanilla coffee creamer & fresh cut chives in my scrambled eggs. So yummy! sammiejanL40 at aol dot com

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  86. tweeted. sammiejanL40 at aol dot com
    http://twitter.com/luvmyrosie/status/27758581080

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  87. tweeted. sammiejanL40 at aol dot com
    http://twitter.com/luvmyrosie/status/27758581080

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  88. My breakfast secret is to cut shapes into toast or to make pancakes shaped like dinosaurs. For some reason my kids seem to think they taste better that way, lol!

    pauleyd68 (at) yahoo (dot) com

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  89. tweeted, Thanks!

    http://twitter.com/lpauld68/status/27759430525

    pauleyd68 (at) yahoo (dot) com

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  90. My secret to a great breakfast is giving everyone enough time to enjoy it. We love breakfast in any form but when we are rushed we don't enjoy it. So an extra 15 minutes it worth gold.

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  91. Tweet - http://twitter.com/willitara/status/27760439032

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  92. I have a large red margarine bowl from when I was growing up that's the perfect cereal bowl!

    ~eunice b
    tigergal01 @gmail .com

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  93. http://twitter.com/tigergal01/status/27764133986

    tweet

    ~eunice b
    tigergal01 @gmail .com

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  94. My secret to a great breakfast is for me to stay out of the kitchen and let my hubby cook! Can't get any better than that!
    bleatham*at*gmail.com

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  95. tweet
    http://twitter.com/#!/sleatham1/status/27775722858
    bleatham*at*gmail.com

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  96. My secret is fresh squeezed OJ, no one notices the food, good or bad, after they have that!

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  97. Our breakfast secret is everything breakfast! Waffles, pancakes, french toast, eggs, egg bake, cheesy potatoes, frosted flakes...you name it...we love it!

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