First Day of School

Good Morning!
Today is the first day of school for the older two kids. I'm not sure who is more excited, the kids or me. With them at school it means I only have the twins for most of the day. This makes my job 10 times easier. With only the twins I can do a lot more. It also means that the kids are on a schedule and have a routine.  They need it so badly. They will now have a regular nap time. Even thought I'm not going back to school right now, the kids starting again will help me a lot. With them on a set schedule I can get on one too. my life will calm down a bit since my work flows over into the rest of my life so much. After this past month I need all the help I can get. I need to get back on track. Everything has gotten so crazy this past month that I'm all over the place. There has been such ups and downs this month. Now I need to focus and stay organized. Not easy for me. But I need to get everything in order so that we can move in November. We need to move so badly. We only have 2 months left on our lease and we don't want to stay any longer then we have to. So I have to get it all together.
 Make it Work!
hugs+kisses
mce

Perillo Promise

It's Friday! I can't even express how happy that makes me. But I want to talk about something else first.
They are calling a Perillo Promise. You know that post I made a while back about the blogger Jennie who lost her husband? Well in her honer Some people are making Perillo promises. This is a promise to spend time with the ones you love and appreciate them. So I am going to make a Perillo promise. I am going ot spend time with Jono on his day off and spend time With Joey and Lars on Sunday. I want to spend as much time as I can with Joey since she is leaving for Japan on the 10th. I hate when she does this. I am so close to my sister and brother and rely on them for support so much that I really hate it when I don't get to see Joey for a whole year. So before she goes I promise to spend as much time with her as I can.

Ok so back to Friday. The great part is that I'm sick. The kids were sick a while back and I thought I might not get it since it was around 2 weeks ago. But I guess it's just one of those sicknesses that waits a while to hit. So it hit last night. I really hope I get over it before Monday. I hate being sick and it really messes with me. I also have to take medicine to stay upright while at work. Kinda makes me loopy. Good thing I work with kids.
hugs and kisses
mce

Tomatoes and Salt

How do you feel about salt? Are you cutting back? Well I'm not. I have a new love. It's name is Black Truffle Salt. Doesn't it sound amazing? Well it is. I got a little jar at an art show recently. I could eat it straight from the jar.

Now as much as I would love to just eat it straight I know better. And I have some amazing tomatoes from my mother's garden. So a little mozzarella and sliced tomatoes make a great meal to sprinkle this salt on. They really remind me of childhood summers.
When I was young, maybe 10 or 11, I used to run away. It was the normal, run away to the end of the block, pout, come home. One day I didn't even make it to the corner. I stopped to pout about half way there. I walked up someone's driveway and sat down on the strip of grass he has be his side door. This sweet old man came out to see why this kid was sitting in his driveway with her wagon. When he saw it was me, we all ran around the block enough that everyone knew us, He asked me one question. "So did you run away?" I told him I had. All he said then was "well you will need some food then" and went back inside. When he came out again he was carrying a plate of tomato slices. He grew them in his back yard. All he had done was cut up the tomato and sprinkled sugar on them. They were amazing. I ate a whole plate of them sitting on his driveway. I went home after that since I wasn't mad anymore. They are still the best tomatoes I've ever had. Those tomatoes from a kind old man to a pouty girl sitting on his driveway with her wagon trying to run away.

hugs and kisses
mce

Pancakes!

Good Morning!
It's Monday again! I know I shouldn't be so up beat on a Monday morning when I have work but I am. I had a great weekend and am fully rested. Let me give you a quick rundown of my weekend. Saturday morning Jono and I went to the famer's Market in Santa Monica. They have a really good one there every Wednesday and Saturday. I have been trying to get Jono to go with me for a while now and I was so happy that he went with me. We got a rabbit, beef liver, and some bison. I know quite a mix. Jono has to cook it though. I have no idea what to do with those things. So Wednesday dinner should be interesting. Later we went to My friend Heather's house for a BBQ and doggie playdate. We had a great night. It was nice to go out with Jono even if it was just to our friends house. But we really needed to get out. It had been a hard week. Sunday Jono had work. I made Pancakes! I had gotten the recipe for my Grandmother's pancakes. They are the best ever! After that I ran some more errands and picked up Joey for dinner. I made roast chicken for dinner. Lars came over and we had dinner and watched "Going Postal". It was so nice to have them over and spend some quality time with them. It was a great weekend. It was a great way to spend a weekend and get ready for the week.

Grandma Marti's Pancakes

Makes 10-12 pancakes

1   c flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

1   tsp salt

7/8 c milk

1   egg

1   tsp melted shortening (can substitute melted oil, butter or margarine)

Mix dry ingredients.  Mix milk, egg and shortening.  Add milk/egg mixture to dry ingredients. Stir until smooth. (May need more milk if too stiff.)  Spoon onto oiled griddle/pan.

hugs+kisses
mce 

books

Hello!
It's Thursday everyone! That means that tomorrow is Friday. I can't tell you how good that sounds right now. This whole month has really put me into a funk that I'm having trouble shaking off.

Don't you hate when you get in a funk and can't find any way to get out of it? I have tried everything. And I think it's not as bad as it could have been. Part of it is money and another part is really getting back in the groove of working this much again. It takes a little while. I'm hoping that by next month everything will have smoothed out.

One thing I've been doing to keep myself up beat is cooking. I have been stealing my sister Joey and cooking dinner. Last Sunday Joey and I (mostly me) made chicken stir-fry and rice. I also made a Chocolate chip cake. I'm not going to really put up the stir-fry recipe since it's not really a recipe. All I did was cut up chicken breasts and put them in a pan with  sweet and sour sauce. Then I added a bag of stir-fry veggies and most of a can of cut up pineapples. I wish I was able to cook more. I haven't had the time to make anything more difficult then that. Another highlight was we watched "going Postal" by Terry Pratchett. It was amazing. Truly amazing. I wish I was able to have dinner parties or at least have people over for dinner more. I'm hoping that once I move I will have the room to do this. I like cooking for people and having people over. I just don't like where I am living right now.

One day I would love to be able to have a book club. My mom and dad have one and I've always thought was a great book club. They take turns making dinner and hosting the book club. This always seemed like a great way to read new books and have intelligent conversation about it. The problem is I don't know anyone who I think would like to be in a book club like that with me. And I don't want to host anything at my place right now. Someday I would like to be able to do that someday. But for right now I guess I'll just drag my sister and brother over to have dinner and watch movies.

hugs + kisses
mce

Community

Friday was Peanut Butter Pie day. This was in memory of a great food blogger who lost her husband to a heart attack suddenly. Now i didn't know this woman or her family but the impact this made on the food blogger community was emence. Everyone was making this pie in memory of him. It was truly amazing to see this show of support from people all over the world. Here is a list of all the blogs that made a peanut butter pie in honor of Mikey.

When something like this happens it really makes you think about what you have. You really start to think about those you love and those who have passed away. For me it really made me think about Jono, and where I am today. Where would I be if it wasn't for Jono? Who would I be if it wasn't for Jono? If I wasn't with Jono I would still be living at home. I would most likely be closer to being done with school but I would not be working. I would not have Bella. I would not have a car. I would not be the person I am today. I would not be as stressed but I also wouldn't be as happy. I have grown up so much since I met Jono. I have dealt with a lot more of life since I have been with him then I would have if I wasn't. I am independent now. That would not be the case if not for Jono. I would still be struggling with depression. Though I have had to deal with a lot more stress and hard times with Jono then I would have had he not come into my life it's worth it. I have found someone who loves every part of me and who helps me be a better person. I am leading a healthier lifestyle then I ever was before. I may not have gotten through as much school as I had hoped to by this time but I have done so much more with my life. I am finally taking school seriously for it's own sake not so that I won't be yelled at. Even though life isn't as easy as it used to be I feel so much better about myself and about who I am. Without Jono I wouldn't have this happiness. I wouldn't be as responsible as I am now. I am so happy that I have Jono. I never thought I would be in the position I am now.

I feel for those who have lost family and loved ones. I hope that Jennie and her daughters will feel all the love and support that is pouring out for them.

hugs and kisses

mce

Children

Hello!
I want to have kids. now (mom, dad) don't freak out. I don't want them anytime soon. But someday. Now I know this is an odd thing ot be talking about after all the stress i'm in right now. so I'll give you a quick update.
So as some of you know Jono's car (the one he was driving and the car of his dreams) got repoed. Not through any fault of our own, but because his mother took a loan out on his car without telling us and then wasn't able to make the payments. by the time we heard about all this it was 2 months behind. So jono lost his car. I am ridiculously upset about this but am trying to just let it go. Not easy for me. So we had to get a new car. It's a new Hyundai Alantra. It gets pretty much the same mpg's as the hybrid we were looking at and cost less. we also were able to get everything covered so other then the monthly payments we won't have to worry about anything. I know everyone is going to have their opinions and that's fine but please understand that this is what we got and there's nothing we can or will do about it now. It was hard enough as it was since neither of us have car credit and have never bought a car before. So that is that. We have 2 cars again and can get on with everything else.

So like I said I want kids. Part of it is from watching these 4. I know I complain a lot, but it's almost out of habit at this point. I really truly love these kids for all the hard times they give me. I'm closer to the younger 3 and they really mean a lot to me. This is part of the reason I keep my job, and don't look for one where I would get paid more. But part of the problem with having 4 kids is that you really can't do anything. You can go to the park or stay home. That's about it. I don't want 4 kids. I want to do things with my kids. I want to go to disneyland, and dress them up. I want to be able to go out and do things without worrying so much. It would be amazing to watch them learn and to teach them what they need to know. I look forward to making their lunches and taking them to school. To bringing them after school snacks so that they don't get grumpy. To be able to take them to the library and check out book to read them before they go to sleep. I'm so much of a kid at heart that I like being with the kids. I know Jono would make a great dad. I can't wait to show them what I like and liked as a kid and to learn about what they like. But not for a long time. Just one day.

Hugs+kisses
mce

Home

Hello!
Ok I have a confession to make. I want to buy a house. I know I know. I'm too young, I'm not in a good place to buy a house and all it comes with, I don't have the money and the housing market is shit. With all that i know I'm not going to be buying a house I just want to. And I blame my mother. It's not even that I want a put together house. I want a fixer upper. I need a fixer upper. And my mother is completely to blame for this desire. Most children didn't think of the weekends as those days you painted your room and rearranged the furniture. That's what weekends were for in my house. Home improvement and do it yourself was the name of the game, and we played every weekend. And I want to do that to my own place. I have so many ideas that I can't wait to try but I can't. Many would mean that I was fixing up a place I'm leaving in a few months and others would mean the loss of our security deposit. Neither of which are good outcomes. So until I can have my own place I can dream. Here it is.

I want a 2 bed room one bath (2 bath maybe. I remember those days in the old Amherst house with only one.) in a nice part of west LA or Culver City, Palms would be ok too. I want it to be liveable but need work. As long as the plumping and electrical are good everything else I  can figure out and do. I want a little front porch and a nice sized back yard. I want a neighborhood that I can walk around in at night and know the neighbors. I want to paint it all myself (with jono's help and input of course) and maybe put in hardwood floors if it doesn't have them. I want to put pictures on the walls and be able to move the furniture whenever I want. I want a nice sized kitchen ( at least a 2 butt one) and an open floor plan (though I'm sure I could figure out how to knock out a wall if I needed to). I want to have a little garden in the back yard with vegetables and flowers. And not kill them. I want to be able to sit outside and watch the sun go down and sip a glass of wine and know that I am in the house that I helped make my home.

Yes I know it's a lot of work. But I like that kind of thing. And I want a place that is truly my home. Not just a place we live in for now, till we can move. I don't want to move. I want to be in one place long enough that I change the paint in a room a few times. I don't want to have to think about moving just about changing the place we are in. I know it's a far away dream right now but I am going to keep dreaming. ( and saving a ton of pictures as inspiration, like I need more. )

hugs+kisses
mce