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
Monday, August 15, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
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
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
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
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
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
Friday, July 29, 2011
school
Hello all,
So I'm sure you have all heard about the national debt. One of the things that is likely to get cut is financial help for schooling. That means me. At the moment almost if not all of my money to go to school is through FASFA and loans/grants. So all this talk about not giving out those loans and grants is scaring me. I have no idea if I will be able to go to CUSLB in the fall. So I've been trying to figure out back up plans. If my financial aid doesn't go through then I will have to find out a way around it. I'm hoping that I will be able to go in the spring no matter what. I've already started looking into classes at SMC and west la community. Sadly I doubt I will be able to take any classes that will help me. I need 9 units (3 classes) to keep my health insurance. So I can take 3 classes that don't help me at all and that i don't want to take or I can just sign up for 3 classes and then drop them. This would mean that I would be working through the whole fall semester. I might even be able to work 5 days a week and save up so that even if my financial aid doesn't go through in spring I will be able to cover at least some of it myself. This might be the plan I go with. Of course I hope that it doesn't come to that and that I get the financial aid I need to go this fall.
I hate thinking about money. It drives me crazy. And there never seems to be enough. Well things aren't that bad actually. Both Jono and I are working full time and making about 2 grand each every month. We make enough to cover our bills. It's helping out his mom that is taking such a strain. But it will get better. I know it will. It has to at some point right?
hugs+kisses
mce
So I'm sure you have all heard about the national debt. One of the things that is likely to get cut is financial help for schooling. That means me. At the moment almost if not all of my money to go to school is through FASFA and loans/grants. So all this talk about not giving out those loans and grants is scaring me. I have no idea if I will be able to go to CUSLB in the fall. So I've been trying to figure out back up plans. If my financial aid doesn't go through then I will have to find out a way around it. I'm hoping that I will be able to go in the spring no matter what. I've already started looking into classes at SMC and west la community. Sadly I doubt I will be able to take any classes that will help me. I need 9 units (3 classes) to keep my health insurance. So I can take 3 classes that don't help me at all and that i don't want to take or I can just sign up for 3 classes and then drop them. This would mean that I would be working through the whole fall semester. I might even be able to work 5 days a week and save up so that even if my financial aid doesn't go through in spring I will be able to cover at least some of it myself. This might be the plan I go with. Of course I hope that it doesn't come to that and that I get the financial aid I need to go this fall.
I hate thinking about money. It drives me crazy. And there never seems to be enough. Well things aren't that bad actually. Both Jono and I are working full time and making about 2 grand each every month. We make enough to cover our bills. It's helping out his mom that is taking such a strain. But it will get better. I know it will. It has to at some point right?
hugs+kisses
mce
Thursday, July 28, 2011
recipe hunt
good morning!
So I am on a recipe hunt. Now this isn't to say that I need more recipes. I have over 300 on my computer alone never mind all the pictures I took of books and cookbooks I have. I think it's a bad habit. I have more recipes then I could ever make at this point and I will still clip out recipes in magazines and check out as many books as I can carry from the library. Sifting through all of them is a ton of work. The one on my computer are the only ones semi-organized. and even those are missing key parts of some of them. I started just copying and pasting recipes from sites into my program (notebook). I didn't have the name of the site I took them from or a picture of what it should look like. Then I starting putting in the name of the site when I took recipes. And later I starting getting the pictures as well. But that means that I have all three types all mixed together. So now I have to go back and get what ever missing pieces each one has.
Ok but what really started this whole thing is my need of quick recipes. While I was off I could spend 3-4 hours cooking, but now I can't. I have maybe an hour at most during the week. And pretty much no time at all for lunches. So I need to find things i can make on the weekend and have leftovers for lunches during the week. I also need quick dinner recipes. Healthy recipes. I think the biggest issue is the lunches. It's hard to find food that tastes as good the next day as it does freshly made. stew works well. And rice if I eat it within 3 days. Salads are iffy because if I assemble them before then they are soggy by the time I get around to eating them. So that's my mission this week. Or at least for the next 2 days. If any of you has any helpful hints they would much appreciated.
hugs+kisses
mce
So I am on a recipe hunt. Now this isn't to say that I need more recipes. I have over 300 on my computer alone never mind all the pictures I took of books and cookbooks I have. I think it's a bad habit. I have more recipes then I could ever make at this point and I will still clip out recipes in magazines and check out as many books as I can carry from the library. Sifting through all of them is a ton of work. The one on my computer are the only ones semi-organized. and even those are missing key parts of some of them. I started just copying and pasting recipes from sites into my program (notebook). I didn't have the name of the site I took them from or a picture of what it should look like. Then I starting putting in the name of the site when I took recipes. And later I starting getting the pictures as well. But that means that I have all three types all mixed together. So now I have to go back and get what ever missing pieces each one has.
Ok but what really started this whole thing is my need of quick recipes. While I was off I could spend 3-4 hours cooking, but now I can't. I have maybe an hour at most during the week. And pretty much no time at all for lunches. So I need to find things i can make on the weekend and have leftovers for lunches during the week. I also need quick dinner recipes. Healthy recipes. I think the biggest issue is the lunches. It's hard to find food that tastes as good the next day as it does freshly made. stew works well. And rice if I eat it within 3 days. Salads are iffy because if I assemble them before then they are soggy by the time I get around to eating them. So that's my mission this week. Or at least for the next 2 days. If any of you has any helpful hints they would much appreciated.
hugs+kisses
mce
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Working out
Good Morning!
Ok so I have a confession to make. I hate working out. I will do anything I can to get out of it. I would rather clean the whole apartment by myself with a toothbrush then workout. That's actually my fall back plan every time. I clean instead. Good for the house but not for my health. Working out or sports were never part of my childhood. We did music and acting instead. Trying to get into working out is ridiculously hard. I'll go to the gym for maybe 2-3 weeks almost every day but then it's over. I just can't stay motivated. I never really cared about my lack of working out before but now that I live and with later marry a man who is all about working out and being healthy I realize how unhealthy my lifestyle is. I always have high hopes. And I really do try to get into it. I also don't really have the right clothes for it. The shoes I have make my toes go numb after 15-20 minutes working out. I don't know why. It doesn't matter how loose I tie them. So I have a new plan.
Now one of my main excuses is that I don't have time when I'm working. Well I'm going to try to work around that. I have drawn up a weekly outline that breaks down each day wither I'm working or not. That way I have no excuses. I am also going to print it up and post it all over the house so I can't get away from it. I am also going to do different things. I can't seem to always get to the gym (it is like 20 mins away) so I am going to do at home videos. I normally hates these as they make me feel stupid and they aren't very entertaining, but I need to get over that. I am also going to start going to yoga again. I had stoped because of money but it is something I like doing and will actually go to so that will be at least 2 workouts a week that I will do. I'll just have to budget for it. I always feel better afterwards and it helps with my stress levels while I'm working.
So that's the plan. I'm going to be working a lot more from now on. For the past 3-4 months I've been working a max of 2 days a week with short hours. Now they are back at work and I'm back to 11-13 hour days 4-5 days a week. I need to stay focused so I don't get annoyed at the kids, and I'm hoping that working out with help with that. I just hope it works!
Wish me luck! I'm going to need it. And if anyone has any ideas on how to make it more pleasant please let me in on them.
hugs+kisses
mce
Ok so I have a confession to make. I hate working out. I will do anything I can to get out of it. I would rather clean the whole apartment by myself with a toothbrush then workout. That's actually my fall back plan every time. I clean instead. Good for the house but not for my health. Working out or sports were never part of my childhood. We did music and acting instead. Trying to get into working out is ridiculously hard. I'll go to the gym for maybe 2-3 weeks almost every day but then it's over. I just can't stay motivated. I never really cared about my lack of working out before but now that I live and with later marry a man who is all about working out and being healthy I realize how unhealthy my lifestyle is. I always have high hopes. And I really do try to get into it. I also don't really have the right clothes for it. The shoes I have make my toes go numb after 15-20 minutes working out. I don't know why. It doesn't matter how loose I tie them. So I have a new plan.
Now one of my main excuses is that I don't have time when I'm working. Well I'm going to try to work around that. I have drawn up a weekly outline that breaks down each day wither I'm working or not. That way I have no excuses. I am also going to print it up and post it all over the house so I can't get away from it. I am also going to do different things. I can't seem to always get to the gym (it is like 20 mins away) so I am going to do at home videos. I normally hates these as they make me feel stupid and they aren't very entertaining, but I need to get over that. I am also going to start going to yoga again. I had stoped because of money but it is something I like doing and will actually go to so that will be at least 2 workouts a week that I will do. I'll just have to budget for it. I always feel better afterwards and it helps with my stress levels while I'm working.
So that's the plan. I'm going to be working a lot more from now on. For the past 3-4 months I've been working a max of 2 days a week with short hours. Now they are back at work and I'm back to 11-13 hour days 4-5 days a week. I need to stay focused so I don't get annoyed at the kids, and I'm hoping that working out with help with that. I just hope it works!
Wish me luck! I'm going to need it. And if anyone has any ideas on how to make it more pleasant please let me in on them.
hugs+kisses
mce
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Home
Well I'm at home now. It's been a crazy week. I've done a lot of driving and I got to say it's nice to be home again.
Now I'll recap our trip in order. It will help me remember this great adventure.
Thursday
I worked and then packed. We picked up Viktor at the airpot around 10:30pm and started out. My mom drove most of the night.
Friday
We got to Las Vagas around 6am. We stopped to make breakfast and headed out again. We drove to the North Rim of the grand canyon. It was absolutely beautiful. We were only there for about two hours before we started off again. This is where things went a little off. We had been using our GPS (Susan), as this point Susan decided that we really wanted to go to New Mexico. I woke up around 3 am and found out we were heading to Albuquerque.
Saturday
We got into Albuquerque around 6am. Thats when the gloves came off. We were trying to get to Lizzy's wedding before 4:30pm. It was a crazy drive. We managed to get to the wedding just as the ceremony ended. But we made it. Joey and I went to the party and my Mother and Viktor went to my uncle Eric's.
Sunday
We went into Bolder. It is an amazing city. We went to a River nearby the city. Then we went back to my uncle's house. I got to cook with Patricia my aunt. She is from Peru and it was so much fun!I'll have to post the recipe we made another time though.
Monday
We drove to yellowstone. Joey really wanted to go. It was the first night I actually cooked. I had made pizza dough before I left, and we decided that we should try to cook them. Now we hadn't been able to get the oven working. So I was left with a fire pit that had a built-in grill. not ideal. But I made it work. I was pretty proud of myself. We made a few different ones.
Tuesday
I made pancakes on the fire. Again pretty proud of myself. We then went into the park and saw the geysers and lots of animals. It was one of the most beautiful places. We found another campground inside the park for the night. We went on a hike in the rain. Did you know that misquote’s get worse after the rain? Well now you know. We got eaten alive. Not as much fun. We managed to get the stove working that night and I made pasta.
Wednesday
We drove through Idaho on our way to Portland. Drove most of the day. Exciting uh.
Thursday
We drove along the Columbia River and went on a little hike. We got into Portland around 1pm. We all decided to split up and spend about 3 hours in Portland while we waited for Sheri to get off work. Joey and I went to the food carts. They are not like ours. First off they don't move at all. Got to say they were pretty good though. Then we went to Voodoo doughnut. What a line! Pretty good. We went to Lake Oswago and had wine and cheese with aunt Diane, Byron and her boyfriend. Once Sheri got off work we drove to her place. We made dinner with Holly. I love visiting Sheri. She reminds me of my mom and is sooo much fun.
Friday
We drove back into portland. We had only gotten to spend about an hour in Powell's the day before so of corse we went back. For those of you who don't know, Powell's is the biggest bookstore ever. Maybe not but it is really big. It is a full city block square. You get a map at the front door so that you don't get lost. It has got to be one of my favorite places. And of corse joey's. That night we went out with Sheri.
Now a little aside about portland. I love it. I haven't been up in a long time. After this trip I am thinking about moving there. Now it's not a set thing just an idea. There is a lot that would have to change but I have to admit the idea of living up there is really tempting. And living near Sheri and the gang is definitely a perk.
Saturday
We drove all day. We got home around 2:30am.
Home at last. It's been a crazy time and we had a lot of fun but now I have to come back to the real world and take care of everything I need to do.
Hope you all had a fun time!
hugs+kisses
mce
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