Dad

Good morning!
Everything has been busy. The kids are all catching something we think and the babies are still teething. It also has gotten crazy hot here. Doesn't feel like Fall at all.

But on another note I want to talk about my dad. I realize that for some reason I don't talk about him as much. But he has always had a huge impact on how I live my life. When I was in high school he helped me learn how to be understanding. To step back and think "well wait what is going on with them that is making them act like that. It might have nothing to do with me at all" He taught me how to think. He taught me to question everything. He taught me how to read. Not just the mechanics of it but the difference between good literature and fluff. He has had an effect on my day to day life more then anyone I think. I got my goals from my mom and my mind from my dad. And my dad taught me to see that. To be able to look at how I think and really figure out what I want.
For that I salute you dadda. I love you.

hug+kisses
mce

everything's fine

Hello!
I know it's been a long time since I updated. I've fallen into a new schedule. This is kinda how my week is looking now.
monday
work from 7am-12:30pm, come home and eat lunch. then I run errands if I have any. I try to workout in the afternoon and I end up taking a nap sometime in there. Around 6pm I go back over to my adopted-mother-in-law to be's house for dinner and puzzle and talk. I am in bed around 9:30-10pm.
Tuesday
same schedule in the morning and afternoon. But on tuesday's I go over to my moms house to work on my pottery in the garage. Sometime (I hope) I go to the food trucks with Lars.
Wednesday is the same as monday all day
Thursday is the same as tuesday.
Friday is the same as Tuesday and Thursday.
Saturday we go to the market and run any errands that we need to do together. We relax and clean and nap. Jono still works Saturdays and Sundays.
Sunday is pretty much the same as Saturday but at 6:30pm we go for date night to the nook for their $20 sunday special dinner. It's 3 courses, hardly ever the same thing twice and always amazing. We took Lars with us one week and are taking Marlyn and George with us this week.

Over all I feel like I'm getting things done. I get a lot of work done when I go to my moms and I missed having a place to work with clay. It's been really great. I'm in a really good place.

hugs+kisses
mce

Prep time!

Good morning!

                       (this is Emilia from daycare and one of the 3 week old puppies.)

Encase anyone missed it, it is now September. Do you know what that means? Well it means kids go back to school. It also means that if you are working with kids the holidays are coming. Halloween is next month and then there's thanksgiving, and then Christmas! It also means that if you plan on making a great deal of your Christmas presents you start now. So I have started. Slowly. Part of the issue is I have to remember what I gave people last year and not give them the same thing. One reason I like making everything. If I forget and give the same thing again it won't be exactly the same. I have 40 people on my list. I guess I like setting myself a challenge?

A question for all though. What books to you feel are must reads? Books that are referenced a lot in other books or in life. I am looking for a list of books that people feel a person should read in their lifetime. Now I'm not asking for what books to you think are Good. A book can be referenced a lot and not be a particularly good read. I want to read the most referenced books. The ones people expect you to have read.

Hugs+kisses
mce

Moving Forward

Good Morning!
There's that crisp fall chill in the air this morning. I'm sure it will burn off but it is just a reminder that summer is almost gone and it's time to get back to work. The past month I have been training with my adopted mother-in-law to be at her daycare. It is about 3 houses down from where I live. Today I start full time. There are 12 kids. Some are babies and some are going to be leaving us next week for kindergarten. It's been a hectic crazy summer and I'm glad to feel the crisp air. I hope that things calm down now. I have been all over the place emotionally since the kids left but today I finally feel like I'm back on track. I'm working again as well as starting viola (on my own) again and picking up my Italian again. I'm figuring out my school stuff as much as I can. I have already started on Christmas presents.

I am more grateful then ever to have Jono. He has been such a help making sure I don't go too out of control this summer. We are started training again and I've started eating better again. He has helped keep me centered this summer when I was flipping out. Just having him as a strong constant has been amazing. I am so happy with the people in my life that I can take one or two bad ones.

The support I have gotten through this summer of ups and downs has been amazing. Thank you everyone. Now back to work!

hugs+kisses
mce

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Hello
So a lot has happened. The kids have moved. It was harder then I expected. The past 3 years everything I did has revolved around the kids. So to have it go from spending 60 hours a week with them to none is hard. I'm still adjusting. The biggest help has been family. I have been spending more time with the Kecks and Jono. It has been such a help. I have dinner with momma Mar monday and wednesday and dinner with the siblings, Amanda and Danny, once a week.  It deffinately helps ground me some more. And speaking of ground....

In 4 days I leave for Japan!!! I've been planing and working on it for the past week. It's been crazy! I'm so excited. I really love these family vacations. We don't get to spend enough time together these days since Joey and I have moved out and Lars is so busy. So spending 10 days together will be a blast.

I'll let you guys know how it goes!
hugs+kisses
mce

Moving on

Hello!
So as some of you know the family I have worked for the past 3 years is moving up north. This is happening in under 2 weeks. By the end of next week I will be out of a job for a while. Thankfully this is not for good. I will start working with my amazing adopted mother-in-law, who runs a daycare out of her home,  in august. This is a huge change. Not only will it be different kids but the hours will be shorter, the pay less and the commute about a 2 minute walk, if I walk really slow. I'm actually really excited about the change. The past 3 years have been amazing but a lot of my life has had to be put on hold. I have been at the mercy of a family that had no idea what their plans were most of the time. I will not be working alone anymore. Meaning that if I start throwing up in the middle of the night I can call in sick, which I have been in terror of the past 3 years. I have been working 60+ hour weeks for so long now that a normal 30-40 hour a week job will give me a ton of time I haven't had. I can work and do errands on the same day. I will finally be able to get my life back on track. As amazing as this experience as been for me and as much as I have grown during this time I am happy to see it end. The amount of stress I have been dealing with is more then a normal job should give you. I am kinda sad to see them go since I have spent so much time with these kids and have really grown to love them a lot. It helps the transition though that I am going to be working with family and am going to have family around me a lot more. I'm also really excited to be able to get my schooling and everything else back on track. I am ready to move on. I'm ready to stop stressing out as much. I'm ready to have my own life again.

hugs+kisses
mc

Hello again

Good morning!
I know I've been away for a while now. So let me catch you up!
The kids had their last day of school down here. It was very emotional for them since they know that they will be moving away.
I also went to Las Vegas last weekend with my mom and cousins. It was a blast! Vegas is a crazy place.

Jono and I have been ridiculously busy as of late. we've both been working all week and then had full weekends that hardly leave time to get to the market much less cook. We've gone to visit with family up in Baywood, gone to a family birthday party in santa clarita, and changed bedrooms. Lets talk bedrooms for a minute.
For a while now as well as the last time we stayed there, we were staying in my mother-in law's guest room. and it was tiny. A true guest room meant for a single person. It was very cramped and we had to get rid of a lot of our things to fit. With all that has happened these past few months and the amount of support we have given Jono's mom we decided we should switch bedrooms with her. She had a big bedroom built for 2. It has a sliding glass door leading onto a patio with a hot tub and the backyard. She had not taken good care of any of it. It took all weekend to move and clean. The outcome is that now Jono and I have a larger room with space for us to move and a patio we can use. It makes such a difference. I have big plans for the yard and patio. I want to set it up so we can have dinner parties out there and not have to worry about being inside and getting interrupted. I want to get the hot tub working again since it has not been used in over 4 years. The room gets a lot more light that I realized and it is so nice.

But now to cooking. I have done very little cooking these past few weeks and I am trying to get back into it. I am going to start cooking with the kids more since I now have them all day. Not a lot is happening right now though since both twins have the stomach flu and have been sick since monday.

I think that's all for now. I'm sure I will think of more I want to tell you all later.
hope you all have a beautiful day!
mce 

Relax and enjoy the sun

Good Morning!
It's my favorite time of year. Spring and Summer always lift my spirits. There is so much fresh fruit and veggies at farmers markets. I feel like spring and summer are for fruit and fall and winter are for veggies. Strawberries and peaches are coming back and amazing tomatoes. Grills are lighting up wherever you look. It's the time of year I crave light clean food.

I never really thought about food and what I ate while I was growing up. It was whatever was on hand and was quick and easy to eat. Now that I've started paying more attention I find that I like to eat with the seasons. When I'm cooking in the winter I have no problem standing by the stove making soup or roasting veggies. But once the weather warms up I don't want soup I want something cool. I want vanilla pound cake with fresh fruit and whipped cream. In the fall and winter I want things hot not luke warm. In spring and summer I don't mind. I want cold rice noodles with peanut sauce. I want to add citrus to everything. I no longer want to sit making pasta for hours I would rather have a piece of bread with fresh tomatoes. We are lucky in LA to have a few farmers markets that are open year round but they are truly amazing once spring comes in.


My life also changes with the seasons. This summer big changes are coming. For one I am loosing my current job. The family is moving up north in July. This will change a lot for me. While I know I will be able to find another job without too much worry I will have to change around a lot. I am so used to my long hours and endless weeks that I will have to adjust to not having them. Hopefully I will be able to find another job that pays better and has better hours. I hope I will be able to once again start school at least part time. I will be able to balance my life better. But it will be a big change. I have been working at least part time for the same family for 3 years. It will be an adventure to start all over. I am looking forward to it since there is no point in looking back.

hope you all have some fun in the sun today!
hugs+kisses
mce

working with kids

Good Morning!
In case you missed it, today is Friday! It did not elude me at all. I feel that this comes with working with kids.

Now don't get me wrong. I love the kids dearly. I love working with them and would rather do what I do then sit in a cubical. For example I took the picture above at the Getty center when we went last week. You don't get to do that sitting in an office. But when you work the hours I do it's harder. You aren't dealing with just your emotions but with four other sets that are all doing there own thing. You can't waver or blink. If they think they can get something past you they will. Being on your toes and staying sharp for 12+ hours is not the easiest thing. I've been doing this so much though that at this point I feel like I can do anything with the kids. I do my workouts with the twins and keep track of my budget and pay bills while they play in the living room. Next week I have to take them with me to the doctor.  But the mental and emotional strain is immense at times. When I learn I am working longer then 12 1/2 hours I feel like crying. It would be amazing if I ever worked less then 55 hours a week. This makes the weekends even more special.

I plan my weekend all week. I plan what I'm going to cook and what I'm going to do. My time away from the kids is amazing for me. Friday marks Movie Day with the kids and date night with Jono. It is the last day of a long week. This weekend we are going to the ren faire on Saturday and visiting the Kecks on Sunday. Fun will be had by all.

I hope you all have fun plans for this weekend and have some time to relax.

hugs+kisses
mattie

Mother's day is on the way

hello. I hope all of you are doing well. This past week has been a bit of a craze fest. For one we (Jono and I) got a new (to us) car. This means that I am now driving a car that works a lot better and Jono is getting the gas mileage he needs. Even though the process was overly painful (mainly due to his mother being involved) the end result is pretty awesome. I am much happier with this arrangement then the one we had before. It was stressful and maddening but it's done now and all is well.

I have never been more grateful for the mothers in my life. For those of you who may not know this I have 3 mothers. How? Well I have my birth mom, Ana, I have my blood mother-in-law to be, Carolyn, and my adopted mother-in-law to be, Marlyn Keck. The first and the last help me deal with the middle one. It's not easy at all. While I am overjoyed to know I will spend the rest of my life with Jono his mother drives me up the wall. It has gotten to the point where any conversation I have with her that's longer then 2 minutes leaves me shaking with anger and the need to leave the house. Thankfully neither of my other mothers live far away. Marlyn actually lives only across the street and 3 houses down. When things get hard I can run over there and know I will be loved and listened to and fed. I know I can always go to my mom's house for a nice glass of wine and a relaxing chat on the balcony. These two women are who I am celebrating on mother's day. These women who are always doing something always engaged and always there with a smile and a hug. These women are never idle. They always have something going on be it craft or an adventure. They inspire me more then I will ever be able to express to them in words. I try all year long to show them though. Most of the things I bake? they end up in the hands of these two women. I rarely keep more then a few cookies or a few slices of cake for myself. When I have my craft stuff out I am always trying to think of what to make them. I am grateful every day to have them in my life. They show me that there is no excuse to be idle. There are so many things you can be doing with your time so don't sit around wasting it. They remind me to create. Anything really as long as it's something.  I can never see these women retiring. Not the leisurely retirement some people take. Maybe retiring from one thing and doing something else. But never just sitting around. There have been time when I've thought about wanting to quit working and just relax and the thought of the look on their faces if I did that gets me out of bed and back to work. I feel the mother's day is not enough. How can it be? So while I plan on doing something small on mothers day for these women, I also plan on spreading it out over the whole year. Because really, how can you say everything in a day?

hugs+kisses
mce

Bread Pudding

Good Morning!
So yesterday I made an amazing discovery. Savory bread pudding. Sounds odd? I know. I thought since it was the first recipe that's all me in a while I should give you guys the recipe.

Savory Bread Pudding

6 cups Stale bread cubes (I had the butt ends of about 3 loafs)
6 eggs
2 1/2 cups cream or milk
about 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning (less if it's not your favorite)
1 tablespoon salt
2/3 cups goat cheese 
3/4 cups sauteed onions
6-7 roasted garlic cloves (or garlic confit if you have it on hand)
3 tomatoes (farmers market ones if you can get them)

Pre-heat oven to 350

Mix the bread with milk and eggs. Make sure the bread is well coated. Add the seasonings, salt, and cheese. mix till well combined. Smash the garlic into the bread mixture and add the onions. When everything is mixed completely. Pour into a 9x13in greased pan. Cut the tomatoes into slices and cover the top of the pudding with them. sprinkle olive oil over the whole thing and bake for an hour.

Next time I might add some sauteed mushrooms. Doesn't it sound hard? It turned out really well for something I threw together to avoid throwing out some bread I had laying around.

I hope you all have a relaxing weekend!
hugs+kisses
mce

I'm Back!

Hello!
I know it's been a while. There is a reason for this. I didn't have a working computer. The twins spilled a good half cup of coffee on my computer and killed it. Well mostly killed it. I have a friend who works on computers and he was able to fix it for a much smaller fee then it would have been to get a new one. Yay!

So to catch everyone up here we go!

Palm Desert:
Amazing trip. We have never stayed the full week before so it was awesome to have a full week. We also had our own place which was really nice for a change. I cooked some and ate a lot. I did not take a lot of pictures. Actually I think I only have one of some sushi and another of a rabbit. I meant of course to take tons and to update a few times from the desert but it was the friday before we left that my computer died so that all didn't happen.

Once we got home it was right back to the grind stone. I worked 12.5 hours the sunday after we got home and worked a full 5 day work week after that. I ended up working 72 hours by friday. Yea I was dead. I spent a nice quiet weekend.

I have been working off my phone for 2 weeks and it was not fun. Thankfully I have an Iphone so I could still do everything I needed to do. But recipes didn't happen. I am back to cookbooks.

I hope you all had a good 2 weeks. I am finally ready again for work. Last week was a mess but now I'm back on track.

I am also going to be making a garden. Any ideas on plants are welcome.

hugs+kisses
mce

p.s. 10 points to the person(s) who remember the movie with the same title as this post.

Spring Break and news

Good morning!
So I should be cooking. I should be packing. There is a lot I should be doing. But I'm sitting at work watching the princess and the goblin with the kids. I will be cooking later. I will be packing later. And it's raining. What better weather can there be to get ready to go to the desert. It will make the heat and sun all the better. I am so excited. To have a worry free week with nothing to think about but winning card games and wither to nap or swim. I am so excited to spend a whole week with my in laws. Not by blood but adoption. To have a whole week with a very loving mother in law. It will be amazing. I truly am grateful to be able to go.

But there is other news.

It was decided yesterday that I am going with my mom and Lars to Japan in July. This was not the plan before. I am still in a kind of shock and am really excited. I will be gone for 10 days from July 23rd to August 1st. It will be amazing I'm sure. Needless to say I have no idea whats going on.

But in the meantime I have a lot of packing and cooking to do. And a week away from the kids to look forward to.

hugs+kisses
mce

First Beach day of the summer

Hello!
As I write this I am sitting at work feeling nicely sun baked. You know that happy, alive and lazy feeling? That's it. Today I did something that I have never done. I have been asked and begged and pleads had been made and dismissed. Today these pleas were answered. I took the kids to the Beach. It was frighten and I was ready to back out at the slightest sign of disobedience. I told them that they would be told something once only and if that was not enough then we would pack up and leave and not come back for a long time. I made them all look at me while I warned each in turn. They were prefect. I couldn't have been happier with their behavior. They check with me as we left that they had been good and just how good had they been and were we going to come back to the beach again then? They dug in the sand and played in the waves and collected shells. My mom and cousin Sheri came with, which I have to say was the deciding factor in us going at all. It was amazing. I hadn't been to the beach in so long it felt like coming home. I went into the waves and lay in the sun. I have decided that since they were so good we will be going again soon. I feel as if summer has started now. I know spring has just begun but the beach is always summer to me.

I've been feeling so great lately. Maybe it's the fact that I know I have time off coming. And it's not the scary "who knows when I will be working again" time off. It's a week. Just a week. I can do a week. I am even working the Sunday I get back for 12 hours. Not sure how I feel about that yet. It's rational and smart and I know that. But it's also vacation. Oh well. As Jono pointed out, I'll be missing them by Tuesday so I might as well work Sunday.

I hope all of you are having an amazing time where ever you are.
hugs+kisses
mce

p.s. It was pointed out to me that the picture of Lu at the bottom of the last post may do with some explaining. That is Lu pushing a wight across the floor for her "workout". She insisted on doing it since it was one of the exercises I was doing.

Cookies, Cake and Spring

Hello!
If you haven't noticed Spring is here. Isn't it amazing?! In LA it is bright and sunny and perfect. I've been having a great week so far. I am still dealing with on going issues with my mother-in-law-to-be, but I have reached a point of "what will be will be", which makes it all a lot easier to deal with. SO with this in mind I baked cookies. Perfect Chocolate chunk cookies with sea salt. Doesn't that sound amazing? They are.

I also made Flourless Chocolate cake. It was another recipe out of my new cook book and it turned out amazing! So good that I was caught in bed with a slice last night by my Fiance/Trainer. There were raised eyebrows, foot taping, and promises of undying love and then more promises to work out extra heard today. It was a close call let me tell you.  Needless to say next time I need to make sure I remember what time he gets home from work. I also tucked two small slices away in my bag for lunch today. I was sneaking nibbles in the front seat while driving them around.

Spring also means Farmers Markets time. Jono has started going with me to these and we make a nice little trip out of it. I've fallen in love with salad greens from farmers markets. The crisp and tart and slightly spicy mixes you can make yourself out of big bins of lettuce leaves. With a light vinaigrette and some goat cheese they are perfect. It's time for light clean food. Cool and crisp. I am in need of bright flavors and simple food. I don't want to spend hours standing over the oven while the house gets hotter and more confining. It is time to be outside having a picnic.

I hope you all find yourselves outside soon. 

hugs+kisses
mce 

Prep Timing

Good Morning!
It is 18 days till I go to Palm Desert. I am so excited. The only thing that I am having trouble figuring out is the cooking.

As you may have realized by now I cook a lot in my time off. This is partly because I find it very calming, and partly because I need to make food for the next work week. But Palm desert is providing a problem. I want to pack light. That might be the biggest issue. When I started listing everything I wanted to make it palm desert to Jono he simply looked at me and said "so we are bringing the mixer." I've never had a mixer to bring so the issue hadn't even come up in my mind. But it made me think about it. If I bring the mixer that means that I need to bring flours, sugars, yeast, baking power and soda, cookbooks, pans, and who knows what else. That is a lot to bring, not to mention the 30 lbs. mixer in it's self. So I would rather not bring all that. But can I do without it for a week? can I do a week away from a kitchen for the most part? Without baking bread and cookies and cooking whenever I feel low? I'm slightly anti-social when I am cooking. I have my story on and am in my own world. I don't want to do that when I am in palm desert with family. There will be cooking but only one meal is our responsibility. So I am trying to find a middle ground. I know I want desserts. But I have decided to have rules about it.

These are my vacation cooking rules;
1) all the major prep work must be able to be done before we leave. For example I need to be able to make the dough before hand and just bring it and cook it in palm desert.
2) nothing that takes longer then an hour. I know that at home I will spend hours and hours in the kitchen. None of that!
3) light and healthy. Fruit based things. Lemon bars?
4) It has to make a lot. I am used to cooking for 2 at home but in Palm Desert there will be 10 of us at least.

So to that end I am scouring my cookbooks and all the recipes I have saved to my computer. I have found a few things that might work. Sugar cookies are definitely coming since I can freeze the dough and just cut and baking, meaning that all I need to bring is a cookie sheet. Maybe make a lemon glaze for it. It's am interesting dilemma and something that is going to be a challenge. wish me luck!

hugs+kisses
mce

Big Plans for Spring Break

Hello!
So the plans are in the works. Palm desert is the destination. 3 1/2 weeks is the time. And trust me I'm counting. Jono and I are spending the week hopping from one room to another with his family at their timeshare. It's going to be a blast. Jono and I are going to cook dinner for everyone at least one night. That's 10 people. 10 people used to good food. His other mother is an amazing cook and I am in constant awe of what she can whip up on a work night. And it's all so good. So like I always get before I cook for people I am worrying. Jono is not. At all. How he can have such faith in my cooking when he sees all the mistakes at home I really don't know. He has seen me throw out dish after dish that I'm managed to completely mangle. But he says it will be fine. He wants to make pies.  Pies that we made on a whim to use up extra pastry tart shells I had. Pies made up of what I could get my hands on in our fridge. Now they were good but not perfect. Not up to the standards of the family. At least I don't think so. So this next weeks will be filled with the making of pies. Lots of pies. I have been looking up dough recipes, and worrying over filling. Jono said we can do them just the same but I think I can make something better. I will be experimenting. It will also be my first real foray into cooking without a recipe in mind. I have changed recipes while I cook them but I have never gone completely off on my own. I am also going to make a bunch of desserts ahead of time as a peace offering if this whole dinner thing is a bust. Sugar cures all ill will. right?

I will keep you all updated on the progress of the hunt but it may be a bit scary. I will post my failures as well as any success I have.

wish me luck!
hugs +kisses
mce

Jam Tartlets

Good Morning!
The sun is shining and the world is well. I made something yummy. Some munchings and crunchings. It was a bit labor intesive but that is all to the good right now.

Jam tartlets
(adapted from the Sono baking company cookbook)
Ingredients
1/2 recipe Pate Sucree
       (Full recipe)
         2 cups flour
         1 cup butter (room temperature)
         1/4 cup Sugar
         1 tsp Coarse salt
         1 Large egg
         1 Large egg yolk

Streusel

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces

1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam

Pate Suree
in the bowl of a sand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat butter, sugar and salt on medium-high until light and fluffy about 3 minutes. scraping down the sides as you go. Add the egg and yolk. Mix until combined. Add the flour and beat until it has been absorbed.

Turn out dough of bowl, working with half at a time, on to plastic wrap and create 2 discs. refrigerate for at least 2 hours. I left them in there for about a week.

Tartlets

on a lightly floured surface roll out dough to about 1/8 in thick. use what ever size tart pans you are using (I used 4 in ones) to cut out circles enough to fill the pans. Place in mold and refrigerated again. I let them chill for about a day.

to make the streusel- in a medium bowl use a fork to stir together the flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add the butter and work into the dough with your fingers. Work until it looks like bread crumbs. refrigerate until you are ready for it.

Pre-heat oven to 350f.

spoon in about 1 TBS jam into each mold and spread it out. Make sure it is not too thick. Place the streusel onto till it covers all the jam and mounds a bit in the middle.

Bake on a baking sheet for about 20-25 mins. Until the edges are golden brown and the streusel is cooked. Let cool on a wire rack.

eat!

I hope you all like the recipe! they are really good and not too sweet. Very good with a cup of coffee. you might want to share them if you make them using the 4 inch pans.

hope you all have a great day and some sweets to share.
hugs+kisses
mce

The rain is Pouring down

Good Morning!
I have decided not to think about all the stress and problems that has come up these past weeks. I am not going to think about money, at least for a few hours. The best way I know to not think about these things is to cook. I have found a sanctuary in the kitchen. As the rain pours down and lashes against the windows I will bake and cook in the warm comfort of the kitchen.

Over the past week or two I have fallen in love with a cookbook. More of a baking book. It's called "the Sono baking company Cookbook" by John Barricelli. Truly amazing. I was looking for a good book for baking both sweet and savory. I have found it. Everything I have made out of it turned out amazing. Here is one of the recipes I have decided that I need to have on hand at all times in the house.


Buttermilk Scones
(from Sono baking company)

2 cups flour (plus more for dusting)
2 TBS sugar
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
6 TBS cold  unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cups buttermilk

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

work the butter into the flour mix with your hands until it looks like bread crumbs. (the book says coarse bread crumbs but I never get it looking like that)

Add 1/2 cup of buttermilk and fold until it is absorbed. Continue adding the rest of the buttermilk just until the dough is together and there aren't any dry spots.

turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Devide the dough into two balls and make those balls into two disks about 1 inch thick. Cut into equal slices. I do about 4 out of each disk but if you want them smaller you can do 6 or 8.

Chill the slices on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper in the fridge for an hour.

Now these are best eaten the same day so I freeze them at this point. Once they are chilled I put them in a plastic bag and freeze them till I want them.

Preheat the oven to 400f. Bake from frozen till they are puffed and golden. About 20 minutes. It says to let them cool at this point but I never can wait. I cut them open and put butter and jam on them.

I have started making these for breakfast. I start preheating the oven when i get up and they finish just before I walk out the door. They really are amazing.

I don't know what I will make this weekend but I will make something yummy. I will be happy and calm. Yesterday I may have cried at work (the kids were amazing too. I got the biggest group hug ever) but today I will put that all behind me and just be happy.

I hope you all have a good weekend.
hugs+kisses
mce

Monday Morning Coming Down

Good Afternoon!
Yes I know the reference is off by a day. Oh well. I did so much this morning. And with the girls too. I cleaned the kitchen, which involved unloading, loading, and unloading the dish washer. Cleaned all the dishes in the sink, and cleaned out the fridge. All this was done while watching the girls and making them pancakes. I also baked two loafs of white bread and chicken. I have decided not to talk about why I needed to clean the kitchen while I was working or why it hadn't been done at all over the weekend. I am just going to be happy that it's done now. And all clean. I know there will be the start of a mess when I get home again but I don't care. I am proud of what I did. Now on the the bread.

Doesn't that look great? It tastes good too. I made it since I didn't have any bread to make the kids sandwiches on. I thought it would be kinda boring and lame but it was for the kids so whatever. It turned out really good! It tasted like the bread I remember my dad making when I was little. it made me wonder why I ever bought white bread ever. Not that I have done that recently, white bread is one of those things you cut out when you are engaged to a personal trainer. I have taken to having something to feed the kids at my house since I need to take them there sometimes and don't always have time to either pack them a lunch at their house or drive back to their house to get something for them. Now I will make sure to have this white bread for them. Really easy and yummy! I will post the recipe soon, I promise!

I also did some cooking/baking over the weekend. Not as much as I had planed but that's ok. I made more bread on Saturday, which was very hard to make. It was a very sticky dough and it was for a version of Italian bread. It turned out yummy if a bit flatter loafs then I thought they would be. I also made more balsamic glazed onions. I'm slightly obsessed with them. They are good on anything and I have taken to keeping a jar full in the fridge. I also made balsamic tomatoes. Still working on that one though. Jono and I had Brazilian takeout one night and got what they called bushetta. It came as toast, mozzarella, and this container of balsamic tomatoes with basil seasonings. I am trying to recreate it. Not so easy. I also made Blueberry tea cakes. I got a mini bunt pan and mini loaf pans. It has a lemon glaze and turned out really well. Overall it was a good weekend and I feel good about it. I always feel better starting the week knowing that I got things done over the weekend and didn't waste it and laze around.

hope you all had a great weekend and a good start to your week!
 hugs+kisses
mce

Bread and Field Trips

Good Morning!
So far this short week as been great. The kids have been good. It's hard to have a bad day when as soon as I walk in the door I am greeted with "good morning mattie! I love you!" everyday. Yesterday they had a really full day. It was a Wednesday, which is the day I plan field trips for them, and they had been begging me to take them back to the Getty Center. So after I picked them up from school we all heading up to the Getty. They had a ton of fun. They really love it there which is a constant amazement to me. They have grown so much. Before I wouldn't be able to stay there for 20 minutes before they would all go crazy.  After the Getty they wanted to go to the library. So we stopped on our way home and ended up staying there for at least 30 minutes maybe closer to an hour. Again an amazement. Here are some pictures of them at both Getty Center and Villa.

On another note bread has taken over my life. I an obsessed with finding new recipes and baking bread. This is the main culprit.

Isn't she pretty? I love her. I did a ton of cooking this past weekend. As you can slightly see in the background of this picture I cooked two Cornish game hens. Also these lovelies.

And they smell as great as they look! I was very proud of myself. So needless to say I have checked out about 6 different bread cookbooks. And raided my boss's collection of cookbooks for two more bread books. I'm am really excited to make some more this weekend. Maybe even make some with the kids tomorrow.

Hope you all have a great day!
hugs & kisses
mce

Mixer!

Good morning!
So I have something very exciting to tell you all. I got a Kitchenaid mixer! It was a surprise to me too. My mom got me one out of nowhere and then Jono exchanged it for the biggest one they make. So it was about half and half. I wouldn't have gotten one at all if not for my awesome mommy! So now I have a huge powerful mixer that can do anything! Ok maybe not anything but almost. There are so many things I want to make I don't know where to start. I have read up on it and it says not to start with a heavy dough like bread. So cookies and cakes are first. It's so exciting. I just don't know what to make first!

Other then that excitement Not a lot as happened in my life. Oh there are little things that happen every day but nothing life changing. It's been hard getting used to the new hours and I am becoming a lot closer to the kids every day. It's going to be very hard when/if they move. I feel less like a nanny now and more like a second mom. When you spend upwards of 61 hours a week taking care of kids they become almost yours. They take up my every waking moment monday thru friday. It's been balanced out nicely now with my weekends with Jono. We have been more social lately since we are able to get more time together we don't mind sharing our time with others. Before we had so little time together we wanted it to just be us for the little time we had.

I have also been reading a lot more. I thought I didn't really need a kindle since I wasn't really reading that much. But it turns out I wasn't reading as much because I didn't have a kindle. I've been reading almost constantly. I've lost track of how many books I've read since I got it. It's all "fluff" books so nothing too deep and all quick reads but it makes the days go past faster. I can read while the kids play or while they nap. Once I have a little more off time I can read something that takes a little more work to read through.

I hope you all are having a lot of fun and happiness.
Hugs+kisses
mce

Field trips and pancakes

Good morning!
I am sitting at my own desk in my house. I know you may look at the time and the day and say "shouldn't you be working?" well I am! I have the twins here and they are watching disney movies. Right now it's Snow white. I've gotten into the habit of bringing the twins here after I drop the older two off at school. I make pancakes and they see Jono and watch cartoons.Thank you Grandma! They have fallen in love with Grandma Marti's pancakes and insist on them almost every morning. If I run out I am told in a very matter of fact way "well you are going to have to make more then". I use this time in the morning to clean the house and get my lunch together and sometimes start dinner. So there is now a never ending supply of pancakes in my house.

Today I am trying something a little different. Wednesdays are always the hardest days since the older two get out 2 hours early. So to deal with this extra time I am taking them to the Huntington Gardens. I have high hopes for this since there really aren't too many rules there and they can run around a lot and play. I have packed them lunch and packed the car and hopefully it will all go well!!

hope you all have a load of fun today!
hugs+kisses
mce

Busy Bumble Bee

Good Morning!
I know it's been a little while since I posted. Everything has just gotten so crazy busy around here. I'm adjusting to the new hours and it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Don't get me wrong it is a lot of work and long days but it's not killing me the way I thought it was going to. I've tried to keep my weekends busy to make up for the crazy weeks and it seems to be working. I went to the Long Beach aquarium last Saturday and Disneyland last Sunday. Both with my dear friend from HSU, Brian. I hadn't seen him in ages and it was really great to be able to hang out with him for the short time he was here. Last night I went to the Comedy Store on sunset to see one of my friends do stand-up. It was great! I didn't realize how much I miss all my friends till now. I get so caught up in my every day life that I don't have time to think about it. I'm hoping to get to see them all more.

In other news I got a Kindle! Just the smallest basic one but it's awesome! I am reading so much more now. I think in the past 3 weeks I have read around 10 books. That's more then I got to in the last 3 months. It really helps when I'm at work. I see now what all the hype was about. 

The only thing that hasn't been working out these past weeks is food. I haven't been cooking nearly enough to get me through the week. I just haven't been hungry at all. Does anyone else get that way? I just don't think about it till someone mentions it. Like Jono when he comes home from work and asks me what I ate that day, and I have to pause and try to think if I did eat anything. I know I can't let myself fall into a rut like this but it's hard to get out of. I'm sure I'll find something to get excited over again soon. The other hard thing is that I don't see Jono nearly as much. I work 12 hour a day Monday thru Friday and he works 12 hour days Saturday and Sunday. All that leaves us is the few hours between when we get off and when we have to go to bed. Not a lot of time at all. He has been making dinner for me during the week when he don't train late. I can't begin to tell you how nice it is to come home to dinner already in the oven.

hope everything is going well for all of you!
hugs+kisses
mce

New Year

Good morning!
I have to say that the new year is bringing a lot of new challenges. This is what my hours were this past week; Monday- off, Tuesday-12hrs, Wednesday- 12.5hrs, Thursday- 12.5hrs, Friday- 14hrs. Yes that means that I worked about 51 hours in 4 days. Needless to say I was thrashed by Friday night. But the kids were really good all week. I have also realized that I really really need to pack meals for the whole day. To start this off right I did a huge market trip yesterday. I got things to make and a few frozen "omg I have no time to pack!" things. To start it all off right I made lamb meatballs yesterday. Very messy. But really good! I have frozen them so I can take them out and make them when I get home at night. I have realized that another issue that I hadn't thought of is eating when I get home from work. I am working on dishes that I can prep ahead of time and then have Jono do the last step or two after he finishes training for the day. I am planing on making Ragu today after I do yoga with Jane! I have really missed doing yoga and it will be really nice to start getting back in the habit again. It's not as easy to stay on top of things when I get really stressed and yoga really helps with that. Also it will get awesome to see Jane. The weekends are really all for me right now since Jono works 12 hours a day both Saturday and Sunday. I use it for prepping for the week ahead, cleaning and doing laundry, and relaxing. So far it's worked out great. As long as I do what I need to do before Monday the week should go as smoothy as I can make it. At least that's what I hope!

hugs+kisses
mce

So much to say!

Hello!
Goodness it's been a while since I wrote anything. My only excuse is that I was really busy. Like really really busy. I guess if I just do this is order it will be clearer. So here it goes!
Lead up to Christmas
As I told you all I wanted to make all my presents to others. And as I said that was a lot of people. Here is a list of what I made. And yes I got it all done!
Chile de arbol puree
Chile de arbol salsa
Peanut Butter sauce
Hot Fudge sauce
Oven dried tomatoes
Crackers
about 3 batches of Brownies
about 20 pairs of earrings 
It took forever! But it's all done. I managed to make enough to give to people I had only hoped to gift. It was a little crazy for a while there.
Then there was a ton of family events for Christmas over 4 days.
I had meant to write more about these things as they were happening but it didn't happen. Sorry!

So as I mentioned in my last post my work schedule has changed. I am trying to figure out just how to deal with the change mentally. I know I need to do this and I know I can it's just the how I need to figure out. Thankfully I truly do love these kids which makes it easier. I have realized that for me to deal with this change I am going to need to be extremely well organized. More so then I have ever been. Part of this is Making sure I have both lunches and dinners for a whole week set out and at least some part done. Any ideas?

I hope you all had a great Christmas!
Hugs+kisses
mce