Fashion

Good morning!
As you see by the glazed expressions it's movie day. It makes being here till 11 last night a little easier.

So I want to talk about fashion. When you work with kids fashion goes out the window. I was never very good about fashion before and now it's just worse. My daily outfits are all pretty much the same. Tee shirts, jeans, converse, and if I need a jacket it has to be a light sweater that when I roll the sleeves up they stay. So 4 days a week I wear that. Not very fashion forward. So when I'm off I just want to wear something comfortable since I spend most of my time off running errands and cleaning. So I'm going to go to something about fashion this weekend. I'm going with Jane to a women's expo. Now I am not very girly at all. So It should be an interesting day.

Jono and I are trying to line up appointments to go look at different apartments on Saturday. We find about 6 new places to look at every day. I also have to start my weekend cooking list. No idea when I'm going to have time. But that won't stop me from trying!!
hugs+kisses
mce

short one

The kids are fed and in the bath. Their hair is washed and now they are playing for a while. Soon they will want to get out and I will dry them off put them in their pj's and put them in bed for story time. I am sitting in the living room listening to them play, drinking apple cider I brought from home, with a small dog beside me. While I wait for them to call to get out, I am looking and present ideas. Boy are there a lot of them. I just wanted to tell you of the calm and contented feeling I have right now to be listening to the kids play while I drink apple cider. It might just be down to the apple cider. I am a great believer in the power of apple cider. It's good for the soul. So is children's laughter, even if it does morph into tears so fast. Even if this is work at least I'm ok right now. I don't do well on late nights but I think I will make it through this one.

hugs+kisses
mce

New Ideas

Good morning!
Normally as I write this I would be sitting with the twins watching cartoons and drinking my coffee. That's my Thursday routine. But not this morning. I am sitting at home. Still drinking coffee but no cartoons and a dog rather then the twins. Today I have gotten a reprieve.  My boss as asked me to work late tonight as they are going to a concert at Disney hall tonight. That means I will be off at around 10:30 11 tonight. Now if i had gone in at my normal time that would mean something like 15 1/2 or 16 hour day. With work tomorrow as well. I would die. completely. When asked to do this I was hoping for an hour maybe hour and a half later start in the morning. I didn't expect more. But, I don't have to go in till 2! That makes today a nice 8 or 9 hour day. I am so grateful. The kids also have the day off from school which makes my job 10x harder. But they are taking Lola (the oldest) with them to the concert so I will just have the 3 little ones. I can't even express the dread that was hanging over me about today. But now everything's good.

Now on to another topic. Christmas. I know, I know, it's still 3 months out. But if I am to make most if not all of my gifts I need to start now. Want to know how many people are on my list? 39. That's the combined list of all the people Jono and I need to give gifts to. At least who I think we should give gifts to. There are a some that Jono doesn't feel are completely necessary. I also got a checked from Jono on this topic yesterday. I was telling him who all I thought we needed to give gifts to and what I wanted to do for everyone.  I'll admit I was rambling, and Jono said he wanted to help. I was a little taken aback, since I was telling him about it all and he could say at any point if he agreed or not, given he could get a word in. I had always thought of presents as more of my thing and then just added his name to the card. But he wants to take part. He wants to really sit down and discuss what we are giving people. He is mostly concerned  with my side of the family. I am always surprised how much he likes my family. I know how different they are from his family and I know that they can get a bit overwhelming if your not used to them. But he loves them. It's one of the things that make me realize how serious he is about us. He know how much family means to me and he makes a huge effort. Whenever there is a family get together he makes a point of coming, no matter for how long he can actually be there, and tries to make time to talk to everyone. He wants to have a relationship with my family. i've never seen someone work so hard at it. So when he said he wanted a say in what we gave people I wasn't going to fight him on it. When I got over my shock I realized that there are some of my family that he might have a better understanding of then I do. For example lets take my cousin Cass. I always think of Cass as 6. I don't know why. But it always takes me a minute to remember she is older and then I'm lost. But not Jono. He has a very clear idea of people and who they are. I'm sure he will come up with much better ideas for Cass then I would. I guess she is kinda past the little kid toy or picture book phase.  I know that I need to realize that Jono does love my family and I don't need to worry about it anymore. He is excited to show them pictures during thanksgiving of what ever place we move into. And it's not fake. He is truly excited to see them. I don't know if I will ever be able to express how much this means to me. I've been with guys who knew family was important to me and would try with Joey and Lars, but not the whole family. I know I need to step back and realize that gifts don't just come from me anymore, they are from Us. And he wants to make sure he is involved.

So on to another topic! Cooking. As you know I cooked a lot last weekend. I was very productive. But I didn't even make a dent in my list of recipes to try. it is 466 pages by the way. Some I have tried. maybe 10 of them. And I add to it every day. What I have decided I need to do is have dinner parties. Or some sort of gathering at our house. Then I can cook these things and they don't just all sit in the fridge. Jono does his best to eat everything before it goes bad but he is only one man. So we have started a list of people to have over for dinner. I have also set up to cook with my dear Jane once a week. That will use up some of them. I'm sure I have some dud recipes in there but which ones? And so we begin. I have started going over them all during the week and making a "to make" list every week. Normally none of these get done but last weekend they did. I hope to do the same this coming weekend. Wish me luck!
hugs+kisses
mce

p.s. I know some of my family reads this. For those of you who do please give me any ideas of what you or others might want. I think I have around 4 ideas total. For 39 people. So any input would be a great help! ( and Cass if you do want toys and picture books I will totally get you some. )

Family and Holidays

Good Morning!
The overcast day is reminding me that we are in fall and holiday season is coming. Walking into my apartment last night also helped. The whole place still smelled of baking and the cider was on warming so it also smelled of apple cider. Since it was only an 11 hour day yesterday at work I had time to make dinner and relax before bed. As we all know a major part of fall is the holidays.
This is going to be a crazy few months. I will be working at least 4 days a week. Jono, it seems, is picking up more work every other day. I've lost track of what his hours are at the gym and how many people he is training on the side and how many classes he is going to be teaching at the gym. Needless to say neither will have much free time. So let me just lay this all out for you.
October starts in a week. Sometime in October we will be moving. Which means this month will be full of packing and organizing. There is of course Halloween. Now this isn't as big a holiday as you get older but I work with kids. And Halloween is on a Monday. So while I may not be gearing up for the holiday at home I will be at work. oh joy.
November is also going to be a little crazy. We will have just moved. So we will be unpacking and organizing. I see a lot of this in my near future. November also means thanksgiving. Since it's on a Thursday I think Jono will have work.  We are thinking of trying to go see my family for the day before thanksgiving. Then maybe thanksgiving dinner with his family? Like I said crazy busy.

December is christmas. Last year went well. We did christmas eve with my family (at my moms house) and then christmas day dinner with Jono's family. But this also means presents. I love giving presents. But this year may get a little stressful. I am going to try to make most if not all of my presents this year. So everyone expect homemade gifts. I know that to get everything done in time I need to start like yesterday. Needless to say I need to get started. And figure out what the heck I'm going to make everyone!
hugs and kisses
mce

The work week begins

Good Morning!
I am in my normal spot in the living room drinking my coffee while the twins watch morning cartoons. Ruby is curled up next to me sleeping. And my head is pounding. Not an good way to start a day of work. Especially when it's work with kids. I'm hoping that it won't last much longer. Pain killers have been taken.
I can't express how much I actually love these kids. I don't have the patience I would if they were my own but I love them. The twins hold a special place in my heart. I have spent the most time with them. In the almost two years I've been working with them there has only been one day I didn't have the twins. They are growing so fast. I remember when they slept most of the day and I used to sit rocking them for hours. Now they are talking and telling stories all the time. I love them. No matter how crazy they drive me during the day when I leave they always yell that they love me as I walk to my car. Now how can that not warm your heart. And so I come the next day, and the next. I get the feeling that when I have kids if I have a girl, she will turn out like Lu. And not for the times she sweet but in the ways that's she's difficult. It's hard for me to yell at her most of the time because I know I would be exactly the same as she is. I know if I had a little girl there is a good chance she will take after me in attitude.
Well here's to hoping today is a good day!
hugs+kisses
mce

A weekend of Achievements

Good evening,
I as I write this the last of my projects are finishing. The last patch of mini quiches is in the oven and the cider is in the slow cooker. my puppy is at my feet (trying to get me to play with her or let her on the table with the cider) and Jono is at work. I have made enough food to last us a while and it all came out right. Here are some pictures. not good ones since I lack a good camera (Christmas is coming!) and I took them at the end of a long day.

Blueberry muffins

Mini zucchini quiches with basil 

Cold pasta with tomatoes and mozzarella

Roast chicken

                                                  Veggie salad with Feta
Well that's all it wants to let me upload right now. I'll just tell you about the rest and post pictures later. The ones I made that are not pictured are, Felafels, Apple Cider, Preserved Lemons, Chocolate Cake, and salsa. Quite a bit no? The one I'm most excited about though is the cold pasta.

This pasta recipe comes through my dear friend Jane. The cook in Italy would make this cold pasta dish that we all loved and none of us could figure out how to make it. We all tried and even though we were sure it was just a few simple ingredients we couldn't get it right. Well Jane finally got the recipe. And gave it to me. Vola! It turned out right! So now i will give you the recipe. Use it well.

Rosa's Cold Pasta

Ingredients
6-7 Tomatoes (make sure you get farmers market or really fresh tomatoes as it really does make a difference in this one)
Mozzarella (I used just a log I get at Costco)
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Penne or Fusilli pasta
1 bunch of basil

Chop 6-8 tomatoes into small pieces (off of the cutting board if you can) over a strainer.
Place tomatoes in a bowl and pour over a good amount of olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper.
Chop up some basil and put it in with the tomatoes. Mix. Chop Mozzarella into cubes (she normally uses 4 small balls of mozzarella for six people, but whatever you like!) and place on top of the tomato mixture but don't mix in too much.
Let sit for up to an hour.
Cook pasta in salted water until al dente , drain and toss with tomatoes immediately, while it's very hot.
If you use higher quality mozzarella (like bufala), which tends to be softer, I would toss it separately so it doesn't melt too much.





It's just that easy! And trust me it's worth it. Now I used two bags if pasta and 6 big tomatoes, and I will be able to eat it all on my own over the next few days. It is great stuff.




Well I've cleaned the kitchen, washed the dishes, set the coffee maker, and made sure I have my work bag ready. Some weeks sneak up on me but not this one. I'm ready to take on this week!
hugs+kisses
mce

Sunday Morning Coming Down

Good morning,
So here I am on a Sunday morning drinking coffee and watching my puppy sleep. This is the time I have on my days off to figure out what I want to get done that day. This quite time when Jono is still asleep and I am alone and even the neighbors are quite. I've come to love this time of day. I'm not alone completely, like I am when I get home from work, and I know that if I want I can crawl back into bed with Jono and cuddle. I'm alone enough though that I can listen to my own thoughts and sit by myself and just think. This is the time of day I line up my projects and go through my recipes to see what I want to do.
So here are my thoughts on the day. I want to finish cleaning up from my little project yesterday. Yesterday I preserved some lemons. Now like many of you I had never heard of this before. But I have come across a few recipes calling for them and read a few blog post extolling their virtues. It is also ridiculously easy to do. But I did make a slight mess and I need to clean that up. Jono and I also made roast chicken last night so I need to finish cleaning up from that. I am also thinking about tackling my desk.
Now I'm new to this whole rent/ living on my own thing. I can tel you that my small ability to organize has suffered for it. I don't know what papers to keep so I keep everything. Also we never got my file cabinet from my mother's so we just have a little file box that is ready to explode. I'm hesitant to tackle it all. I know that before we move I need to deal with it since there really is no way to pack it as it is now.
But that all sounds like a lot. And I do have tomorrow off as well. I think I will just go to a street festival with my dear friend Jane and let the rest wait. Yes I think that's the best idea.

hugs+kisses
mce