When I was three years old I was in our basement watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and playing with my cousins when I found a small, silver ring on the floor. Not a jewelry ring, but something that had probably fallen off of a toy because it was the dark ages and they didn’t have choking warnings yet. Though, I was the 4th child, so even with a choking warning I would have been expected to give myself the Heimlich.

But, I didn’t eat the little ring, I put it on my finger. A few minutes later, when my finger turned purple, I went upstairs to show my mom. She stayed calm, because 4th child, and drove me to a nearby fire station where the firefighters had a tool to cut the metal off my swollen hand.

I bet none of those firefighters remember that incident, but my mom and I sure do. Just as I remember the two times I’ve had to call the fire department to my house in the years since. It’s amazing how safe you feel when you’re in the presence of life-saving people. It’s a total bonus that they look good in uniform.

Last night I attended an event at Firehouse Subs, where I got to meet the founder, Robin Sorenson. He and his brother were 2nd generation firefighters when they opened their first sub shop in Jacksonville, Florida.

See the bucket he’s holding? That’s one of 150,000 barrels of pickles that Firehouse Subs empties, then resells for charity, each year. Just since opening one of their five shops in the Columbus area, they have donated over $220,000 to local fire departments for life-saving equipment.

That’s just in central-Ohio. There are over 600 Firehouse Subs franchises and all of them give back to the communities in which they’re located. I don’t know about you, but that’s a great reason for my family to eat there. But, if that isn’t enough for you, just look at this brisket, oozing with cheese.

Mmm hmm. Plus, Firehouse Subs was voted No.1 fast food sandwich by Zagat and No. 1 sandwich in a Nation’s Restaurant News Consumer Picks study. For real, its good.

And, because they can’t stop being nice even if they tried, they’ve asked me to give a lucky reader $20.00 in gift cards! Just leave a comment on this post and tell me about a moment when a firefighter helped you or touched you in some way. You can earn an extra entry by tweeting about this giveaway and leaving the URL to your tweet in a comment on this post.

This contest ends on June 17th, 2013 at noon EDT. One winner will be chosen from among qualified entries. Good luck and happy eating!

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I just got back from a business trip in Austin, Texas.

I had the immense pleasure of speaking on a professional panel with my wonderful friends and co-workers Denise and Melisa. I totally got my geek on.

As if social media measurement wasn’t enough to get me excited, there were also a lot of margaritas.

And, when I got tired of regular margaritas, there were avocado margaritas.

And, cotton candy.

And good friends.

Photo shamelessly taken from Melisa’s FB wall.

And kids of friends.

And 20 minutes of me trying to figure out how to take a picture in my new, awesomely soft, Home T shirt without making Ohio come out backward. I blame the margaritas.

The Home. T sent me this shirt to wear to the American Dairy Association Mideast and Ohio Poultry Association party. Ohio REPRESENT! But, I wore it the night before because I could. Not. Wait.

And, there was heat. Lots of it. So there was also a lot of time spent in front of fans. Luckily, I look like a model and the wind just enhanced it.

There were also the heartwarming and soul-filling stories told by food bloggers, a lot of guacamole, engaging sponsors, and a chance to work in the same room with my co-workers who all live on the other side of the country. It was an exhausting, cankle-creating few days, but worth every bit of work we put into it.

I can’t wait for 2014.

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When my son was young, he was very sick, not only because of his congenital heart disease, allergies, and kidney disorder, but with near-constant, chronic, bacterial infections. A bacterial infection is nothing to mess around with, but when you have a heart condition, you need to be extra careful. We faced what seemed like a never-ending battle against these bugs in order to keep his ticker, well, ticking.

He had strep many times. One case was so severe, and antibiotic resistant, that it nearly killed him. Have you ever heard of a mastoid infection? I hadn’t, until my son got one. It’s a bacterial infection in the bone behind the ear, which is not to be confused with adenitis, which made him look like he had swallowed a golf ball. Oh, and there was that UTI that he got before he was even one week old.

More than anything, though, my boy suffered from sinus infections. From October to May, his little head was crammed with crud and mucus so thick that he could barely breathe. We filled prescription after prescription of antibiotics to keep the bacteria from traveling to his heart. He spent, roughly, two out of his first nine years on Penicillin.

During this same time, when we were pumping him full of medicine, we tried natural remedies too. We even had the air quality tested in our house to see if there was mold hiding somewhere. I knew that all of the antibiotics were keeping him alive, but I also knew that they were killing the good bacteria right along with the bad, and I worried that someday they simply wouldn’t work anymore.

Then, on television one day I saw someone talking about neti pots. Something told me that this was what would help him. I had a talk with his pediatrician and she thought it was worth a try, though she suggested a sinus flush instead of a neti pot, something that would force the water up instead of just letting gravity have its way with his nasal passage.

I bought purified water and a sinus rinse kit, positioned my kid over the kitchen sink, and promptly made him vomit. We tried again the next day, and the next, and the day after that, until my son became a nasal irrigation pro! Now he can even tell me which side needs to “go first” in order to clear his sinuses quicker.

I would love to say that he hasn’t had to take any antibiotics since we started this all-natural solution, but I can say that he’s gone from needing medication about three months out of the year, to about two weeks. He rarely has sinus infections anymore, when he used to live with them perpetually.

He’s had three sets of tubes to help with ear infections, he had his tonsils removed to cut down on strep, and I’m happy to say that sinus infections are, mostly, a thing of the past. I’m glad I made him stick with it and keep trying. I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what we parents are supposed to do.

This post is part of BlogHer’s My ‘I’m a Mom’ Moment editorial series, made possible by Seventh Generation.

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Dear Dad,

Last week, on Memorial Day, there was a war movie on TV that I had never seen. You know how cartoon characters see something unbelievable and their eyes pop out of their heads? That’s how I felt when I realized there was a WWII film that you and I hadn’t watched together.

Maybe the movie was on one Sunday back in 1979 and I wasn’t paying attention because I was reading the comics to you (or the “funny papers” as you used to say). And, by the way, now that I’m a parent I am fully aware that you weren’t listening to me read Hagar the Horrible as much as you were pretending to listen. I’m on to you. I learned  from the best how to do that appeasing nod that insinuates I hear you, but really you’re watching The Bridge on the River Kwai.

I learned a lot from you, Dad, like to start a joke with, “This is a true story…” I learned that you should always wear black pants for an evening on the town, how to spin a basketball on my index finger, how to treat people, and most of all…how to spoil a kid. Or, spoil myself. Same difference. Because, for real, you spoiled me rotten. My kids want me to thank you for setting the bar so high.

If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have owned a Grease album, a satin vest, or Jordache jeans. Aw, yeah. This kid was stylin’. I would have never known what it’s like to eat Moons Over My-Hammy at Denny’s at 3:00am, take a Ford Mustang for a joy ride, or yell, “Arm pit!” to a Pittsburgh fan. Not to mention that I wouldn’t know the amazingness of the Ohio State Synchronized Swim team.

I wouldn’t know how to number my jokes, smuggle beer into football stadiums, play Commando, or know that it’s possible to transform a green sofa into a Christmas tree. I wouldn’t know that a raw potato covered in salt is downright delicious, that it’s possible to read an entire set of World Book Encyclopedias, or that there are certain things you should never, ever do to a cat.

If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have the most amazing childhood memories a kid can have. I wouldn’t know the value of family, how important it is to laugh, or how significant a role a dad can play.

I also wouldn’t have giant earlobes, but that’s another post.

Thank you for everything you’ve given me. Happy birthday, Dad.

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