S2 E3: We Hit Pause, Lived A Lot, And Pressed Record Again

The mics are back on & the oven is warm. We catch up on two fast months that packed in a Winnipeg homecoming, a Toronto Blue Jays playoff ride that took over our screens, and a kitchen marathon of cheddar biscuits, sticky toffee pudding cake, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. It’s equal parts comfort food and clutch moments.

September felt like a reset. Winnipeg brought us back to family, old stories, and the kind of easy love that makes a city feel like home. The reunion turned social media acquaintances into real hugs and reminded us why showing up matters. October turned the dial up: a birthday planned around steak and baseball, holiday hosting with smoked turkey, and the shared ritual of watching games with people you love. The Jays fell short, but the journey stitched together restaurants, living rooms, and a lot of hopeful innings.

Looking ahead, we split paths in November. Esteban leans into exams, back-to-back games, and new music drops. Maria boards a flight to Spain for a fall adventure. We talk honestly about time management, what we missed about recording together, and how to protect one-on-one time when life gets crowded. We set simple goals—finish strong at school, maybe attempt a freezing lake swim, definitely record four more episodes before year-end—and we celebrate a delightful surprise: listeners across 16 countries tuning into our small corner of basketball, baking, and everyday life.

If you’re here for family stories, sports heartbreaks that turn into inside jokes, or recipes that double as love letters, you’ll feel at home. Press play, ride the highs and lows with us, and stick around for the promise: more hoops, more crumbs, more real talk. If this episode made you smile, share it with a friend, hit follow, and leave a quick review so more people can find our little kitchen-court combo.

Follow us on Instagram @hoopsandcrumbs and share your thoughts! We are always looking for questions to ask each other on the #doubledouble

https://www.instagram.com/hoopsandcrumbs?igsh=MTBmNjFkOTBueGE2NQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Transcript

Warm Welcome And Baking Recap

SPEAKER_01 0:17

Three, two, one. Let's go. Welcome to Hoops and Crumbs with the Browns, the podcast where life lessons are baked in like chocolate chips. I'm Maria Brown.

SPEAKER_00 0:26

And I'm Esteban Brown. Together we're talking basketball, life, and everything in between. Whether we're dunking on the core or in the milk, there's always something cooking.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

So grab a snack and tune in. What's so funny, Esteban?

SPEAKER_00 0:42

I don't know. It's just been a long time since we did that.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

It's been a long time. The last time we sat together in front of these mics was the beginning of September. Where did the time go?

September Highlights In Winnipeg

SPEAKER_00 0:54

So yeah, we definitely did some baking over the last few weeks. So, Momo, do you want to introduce what have we baked? We have baked. I feel like I have baked. No, yesterday, what did I bake? I don't know. What did you bake? Or two days ago.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

I baked cheddar biscuits. Some cheddar biscuits, yes, you did. And I've been baking up a storm because we had the holidays. So I made a couple of layer cakes. I made uh sticky toffee pudding cake. I've made some chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. Yep. So how were how were all those desserts?

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Uh so you know how I feel about sticky toffee pudding. For anybody listening that doesn't know, I'm a big sticky toffee pudding guy. That is uh my favorite dessert in the whole wide world. And for the chocolate chip raisin cook for the chocolate chip cookies, uh, I'm more of an oatmeal raisin cookie guy, not a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie guy. But you know, you have to cater to everybody in the household, and Jeff is not a big raisin guy, so I'm I'm fine with chocolate chips.

SPEAKER_01 2:00

I think the oatmeal chocolate chip is his favorite, but I'm pretty sure you ate your fair share too.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

No, I I do like the chocolate chip ones, but uh all I'm saying is I'm a I'm a big raisin guy.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

You're a big old raisin. Well, we're kind of just catching up here. I think uh since it's been a couple months, let's talk about some highlights from the last two months. So, you know, tell me what your September highlight was, what your October highlight was, and what are you looking forward to for November?

SPEAKER_00 2:34

So to kick it off, my uh September highlight was Winnipeg. So we went to Winnipeg. I know it doesn't sound like ooh, whoop-de-doo, they went to Winnipeg, you know. It doesn't sound like a big trip, but Winnipeg is kind of like home for us. Like we have a lot of family there, and you know, it's always nice being around family, especially when, you know, living in Toronto, I don't have that much family here. So it's always nice being in Winnipeg where all my family's from, you know, hanging out with my cousins, my aunts, my uncles, my granny, my grandpa, and we got to visit Lola too and Lolo, so you know, all smiles all around.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Yeah, that was a pretty fun time

October: Birthdays, Blue Jays, And Holidays

SPEAKER_01 3:14

in September. We went back to Winnipeg because I celebrated my 30-year high school reunion, which definitely was a highlight for me as well. I remember being your age and seeing all the other girls come back for their homecoming at 30 years after they graduated and wondering what mine would be like too. And I can 100% say if you've ever hesitated in going to your high school reunion, do not, because it was one of the best events that I ever went to. It was so great to reconnect with girls that I hadn't spoken to in ages, girls whose families I saw grow up online, uh whether it's through Facebook or Instagram, girls that saw you grow up the same way. So it was pretty awesome. Uh September was pretty good. The weather was still great, and uh it was nice to get away, even if it was just to Winnipeg and nowhere exotic. What about October? What was your October highlight?

SPEAKER_00 4:11

October highlight. I think this is a big highlight for you know, Torontonians and uh Canadians all over the world. Oh wait, what? Canadians all over the world. There are Canadians all over the world. Oh, I guess so. That kind of makes sense. Yeah. So Canadians all over the world. And, you know, uh a lot of a lot of the guy people down in the States were also rooting for us because, you know, didn't not big fans of the Dodgers, but uh yeah, the Jay's playoff run was, you know, a huge, huge thing in my life throughout October. I watched pretty much every Jay's playoff game. Uh you know, I went to restaurants to watch, I stayed at home to watch, I watched, you know, uh other people's homes, you know, just watching all over the place. Uh wherever I could find a game, I I like to watch. And you know, it does suck that we lost, and it kind of took me a couple days to get over that, but uh it's the journey, not the destination.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

That's very philosophical. That was a pretty big deal for a lot of people, and it was nice to see so much team spirit um all around, whether you're Canadian from Toronto or just a sports fan in general. It was pretty great. And I think everybody that followed the Blue Jays run can agree that they really were the best team.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

Definitely. They were definitely better than the Dodgers. Don't even get me started. So lucky that that ball got wedged. It didn't even get wedged, it barely got wedged. You could have grabbed that out. A toddler could have grabbed that ball.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

Okay, so that was your October highlight. Um, I think my October highlight would be that it was my birthday month. It's always fun getting older, and the older you get, the more you appreciate uh not the um material things you have, but the people that you have in your life. And it really was quite nice to spend it quietly with you and with Jeff and close family and friends in very many different ways. October was also big holiday month. Oh, what were we gonna say?

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Might I say we also spent it with the Jays because we did go to the keg for your birthday and we did watch the Jays game.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

That's right. That's right. I did book restaurants that had TVs, so steak and baseball for my birthday was was the way to go. Um oh, what was I saying yes? October was holiday month. We celebrated um some of the Jewish holidays, so we had family over. We baked a lot of food for that, and we also celebrated Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, which is one of my favorite meals to cook.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

So big old turkey.

SPEAKER_01 7:00

Big old smoked turkey. Jeff did a great job with his smoked turkey, and maybe one episode we'll have him come on and talk about his turkey smoking methods.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

Well, not even just his turkey, just all the smoking. We we love smoking meats, barbecuing meats.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

We do love to smoke some meat. Um, so that was definitely a highlight because again, October or Thanksgiving is my favorite meal to cook, and it's always so nice to have close family and friends um sharing in a beautiful meal together and watch the baseball game.

SPEAKER_00 7:30

Yeah, always watch the baseball game. We did actually request that people wore baseball attire, Jays attire to the Thanksgiving as we did watch the Jays game afterwards. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

It was Blue Jays and sweatpants. Um, so that was October, and now what are you looking forward to for

Looking Ahead To November Plans

SPEAKER_01 7:47

November?

SPEAKER_00 7:47

November, I couldn't really conjure much up to talk about, you know. Uh exam season's coming up, ooh, tomorrow. So that's not really not really looking forward to that. I think what I'm looking forward to the most is uh I guess there's a lot of new music coming out, I like to say. I don't know. Ken Carson's dropping an album tonight, Drake Iceman, that supposedly is supposed to come out. I I don't know. Roddy Rich, new album coming out. So, you know, a lot of music all around the world. A lot of artists I like are coming to Toronto to tour, so who knows if I decide to go to a concert.

SPEAKER_01 8:30

I think you're gonna be pretty busy in the October or November rather, in November. Like this weekend, you've got seven games. So I don't know where you're gonna find time for all these fun concerts.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

Yeah, yeah, it's it's difficult, but oh, was I just a buzzkill there? Yeah, totally. No, uh I mean, gotta stay grounded sometimes, you know.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

That's right, keep it real. But let's flip it back to you now.

SPEAKER_00 8:59

What are you looking forward to in November?

SPEAKER_01 9:02

Well, in less than 12 hours. Well, 24 hours. Less than 24 hours, I'll be on a flight. Sorry you're not coming, but maybe next time, be heading out to Spain for my vacation for fall. That'll be exciting. Never been. Looking forward to seeing it.

SPEAKER_00 9:20

Congrats. Wop, wop, womp. Guess who else has never been to Spain? He's sitting to your left. Name starts with E, ends in a B.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Got two thumbs, and he's pointing at himself. That guy. You'll see the world soon enough. You still have more steps in your passport than I do when I was your age.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

Yeah, yeah, I guess. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, lots of lots of fun, lots of great things that we can look back on and look forward to as well. So uh speaking of great things to look forward to, how do we want to close the year out? Uh, can you believe that there are only eight weeks left till the end of 2025?

SPEAKER_01 10:02

I cannot believe that Christmas is right around the corner. When we went to the mall today, it blew my mind that there were Christmas trees up already. Um, which means that we'll have to think of Christmas trees pretty soon here in the house. But no, I cannot believe that there are only eight weeks till the end of 25.

SPEAKER_00 10:21

Um Yeah, even uh the big the big tree they put in the distillery is already going up.

SPEAKER_01 10:26

Really? That's crazy. So it's kind of early, but well, we should definitely plan to check that out before the year closes.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

I think uh I'm looking at this little format we have here, and we kind of did like kind of compromising sides of this. Uh you talked about the future, I talked about like what happened in the past, why we haven't been podcasting much. So it's gonna be interesting to see what we say because they are not similar. Okay, well, what do you have to say about

Year-End Reflections And Busy Schedules

SPEAKER_00 10:57

the closing of the year? So, my first question for you drumming, please. What is one thing you were most slammed with between now and last episode? So obviously we're very busy. That's why we weren't able to put many episodes out. So, why were you so busy? What what were you slammed with?

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Work was very, very busy for September and October. Um had a lot of lot of projects to complete, and uh it was just a very busy month or very busy few months. Uh that was that took up a lot of time. You had a lot more games since you're playing for two teams. We had to juggle your practices a little bit, and and then we were away. So eight weeks goes by really quickly when you've got a lot to fill in your calendars. What about you?

SPEAKER_00 11:48

What was I most slammed with?

SPEAKER_01 11:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:52

I can't even tell you. Practice, uh, games, travel, homework, schoolwork, just all all the work, all the practice, all the all the everything. Just a whole buttload of things.

SPEAKER_01 12:07

So you've been doing your homework?

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

So I don't need to check in with Mr. Howard?

SPEAKER_00 12:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

Mr. Howard, do you hear that? Esteban says he's done all his homework.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Okay, well, what's one thing that you want to check off before the end of the year? You've got eight weeks to do it. What are you checking off?

SPEAKER_00 12:27

Check off before the end of the year. Yep. I think I want to take a dip in a lake. Even the look that you're giving me right now. I know it's really cold, but I think that would kind of be the fun of it. Like, I like I don't know. But spontaneously, like, I kind of want to go for like a really cold swim, like a freezing cold swim.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

Where are you gonna do that?

SPEAKER_00 12:52

Ontario Lake? Lake Ontario.

SPEAKER_01 12:55

Lake Ontario. Maybe you'll do a polar bear swim.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

Yeah, maybe.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

But I think that falls into 2026.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

I don't know, maybe not. That seems kind of cold now that I'm thinking about it. Maybe just like maybe just like gain five pounds.

unknown 13:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:10

Well, we can we can accommodate that somehow. We should uh at the end of this episode we'll weigh you and then we'll check back in at the end of the year to see if you actually accomplished your goal of gaining five pounds. Yeah, five pounds I feel like is not that much. I think that's a good destination. I think many people would agree with you that that is not hard to do, especially

Goals, Fears, And School Exams

SPEAKER_01 13:31

with the holidays around the corner.

SPEAKER_00 13:33

Let's uh move back to me. What did you miss most about podcasting and sitting in front of these very mics?

SPEAKER_01 13:40

Um, well, we do spend a lot of time together talking, so I don't really miss that. I think I just miss uh the practice of planning this out, um asking different questions of each other. Um, I guess it is just a different way to bond, even though we do talk a lot normally, like a lot, a lot, a lot. Um so I I guess I miss that. It's just an activity that we do together. What about you?

SPEAKER_00 14:10

Uh I feel like um the thing I miss the most is kind of just like sitting down with you and talking, like one-on-one, because we don't actually like like because we're so busy, we don't actually hang out that much. Like, like as as much as we used to, like we don't really like we used to like go to the mall, go to movies, go swimming, all this type of stuff. We don't actually hang out that much, like, since like school and everything started. Like the only one-on-one time we really have is like when you drive me to school. So I guess just kind of like hanging out.

SPEAKER_01 14:47

Yeah, that is kind of nice. But I think that's what happens when you get older. Like as a teenager, you're just gonna spend more time with your own things, whether it's your friends or your schoolwork or more basketball. That's just kind of the natural way it is, which is okay. Um, but definitely it is nice to have uh our together time. So this is this is a good way to get that. You're right. Uh oh, my turn. So I asked you what you wanted to check off before the end of the year. What do you want to avoid the next eight weeks?

SPEAKER_00 15:23

Um, what do I want to avoid? I guess I want to avoid like failing my exams.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

Oh my god, that's exactly what I was thinking about. Like that's I'm glad we're on the same wavelength there. That's not exactly something I want. No, we definitely do not want that.

SPEAKER_00 15:39

I don't know. There's not that much that I want to avoid. Like, I you know me, I'm a I like to welcome in challenges, right? So, like experience new things, welcome challenges. So, nothing I really want to avoid. I guess just like failing, failing my exams, dropping grades.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

No dropping grades allowed.

SPEAKER_00 15:57

No. Banned.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

No. Hear that, Mr. Howard? Nobody's dropping grades. Okay, well, so what are we gonna do about this podcasting? Because we kind of dropped

Podcast Stats, Global Listeners, And Travel Ideas

SPEAKER_01 16:10

a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 16:10

I think we should try to commit at least four more podcasts before the end of the year, which would take us to 19 episodes for the year. And you know, it's pretty cool that this podcast was published on January 20th, and we've had already over 580 downloads all year, and we've been downloaded in 16 countries.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

16 countries? What countries have we been listened to in? Maybe this could be inspiration for a future trip.

SPEAKER_00 16:41

Uh, so we've got Canada, the obvious pick, United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, Italy, Brazil, United Kingdom, Iceland, Mexico, Japan, Panama, Germany, Bangladesh, India, San Marte, and whoever's in Russia, shout out to you. Russia!

SPEAKER_01 17:00

Fascinating. Maybe we'll have to find inspiration in that list of countries for future travel. We'll probably have to get Jeff in here to help us talk about a travel episode. What do you think? Yeah, yeah, maybe. Anyway, that's a super crazy list. There are definitely countries on there that I would love to see, and we should absolutely revisit um that list for some future travel inspo. What do you think?

SPEAKER_00 17:28

Yeah. I mean, I yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But uh, you know, until we decide to take a nice trip from Bangladesh to Russia, join us next time for more hoops and crumbs when you can find us right here in this room on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music. Everywhere else you find your favorite podcast. We talk basketballs, cookies, and share random life musings.

unknown 17:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 17:56

Well, here we go. Four more episodes to close out the air.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

It's been a while since I did that outro.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

You did a good job. Okay. Bye, everyone. Bye.