Carl Ray

One of the best things about working weekends at Hometown Goods Local Market is that I almost always come home with a little something special. 😋

This weekend's Frequency Through Food haul included an incredible Dark Chocolate Cherry Sourdough loaf and seasoned sourdough croutons from Loaf & Love by Angela If you've never had dark chocolate and cherries baked into fresh sourdough, you are missing out. It is Josh's all time favorite sourdough.

Then came the comfort food from my friends at Radd Dew's Bar-B-Que One plate was homemade meatloaf with green beans and chicken bog. The other was turkey and dressing, with mac and cheese, sweet potato casserole, and plenty of giblet gravy ( my favorite). The kind of food that feels like a hug from the inside out.

And let's not forget dessert. The chocolate chip cookies and red velvet cupcakes came from Nana's Kitchen & Sweets right here in Conway, and they were every bit as good as they look.

Not pictured are the couple pieces of sushi my friend dropped off that somehow disappeared before they could make it into the photo. 😂

Food has always been about more than eating for me. It's community. It's friendship. It's local people supporting local people. It's someone thinking about you and bringing a little extra joy to your day.

This weekend's frequency was gratitude, kindness, and a whole lot of good food. ❤️

🌭 BONUS BITE 🌭

Now before anybody gets excited, this is NOT Episode 8 of The Hot Dog Frequency. 😂

This is one of those side quests that absolutely had to happen when I spotted Chili Cheese Dog Cheez-Its sitting on the shelf.

Are they a real hot dog?

Absolutely not.

Are they weird?

Yes.

But weird in the best possible way.

I actually gave them an 8 out of 10 on the Weirdness Scale because they somehow managed to be exactly what they promised to be... a cracker pretending to be a chili cheese dog. 🤣

Did they take me back home?

Not even a little.

Did they make me laugh while eating them?

Absolutely.

And compared to my last Bonus Bite, these scored about 1.75 episodes higher. That's not official math, but we're rolling with it.

The search for the hot dog that feels like home continues... even when it comes in cracker form. 🌭😂

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☀️ Good morning, my friends.

As we begin a new day, I hope you take a moment to appreciate just how far you've come. Not everything has gone according to plan. Not every road has been easy. Yet here you are, still standing, still growing, still moving forward.

Sometimes we get so focused on where we're trying to go that we forget to be grateful for where we are right now. The lessons, the people, the victories, the setbacks... they all helped shape the person looking back at you in the mirror today.

So wherever you are on your journey, trust it. Keep taking the next step. Keep choosing kindness. Keep believing that good things are still possible.

The best chapters are often the ones we never saw coming.

Love Always,

Carl Ray 🤠✨

P.S. If you would, please send a little extra love, prayers, positive thoughts, and energy toward my family and my daughter today. Today marks six months since we lost our beautiful Missy, my daughter's mother. Some days are easier than others, but love never leaves us. Thank you for helping us wrap a little extra light around her memory today. 🦋💛

grateful.heart

trust.the.journey

keep.moving.forward

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