Here we are two days before Christmas Eve and only a week or so from the new year. Sigh. Its about this time that i start wondering where the time went. My girls turned 6 in August and seemed to have lost the last little bit of "baby" that was lingering on their body and in their speech. They are children now. Those smart (and sassy sometimes), beautiful, lean, athletic (who knows where that came from?), little girls who have their own style.
I think the Christmas rush is part of what makes me start to miss my babies. Only another mother would understand missing your babies, when you have your children right in front of you. Anyway, the Christmas rush. With all the shopping, baking, cooking, wrapping, helping my mom shop-bake-cook-wrap, cleaning, decorating.... It seems like I do not get to do all the little things I want to with my girls. We do some crafts and baking, but for the most part they play while I work.
Maybe next year I will schedule out the crafts and fun Christmas activities so that they are sure to be done. Maybe next year I will do all my shopping in October. Maybe next year will be the year of changes. Maybe next year my resolutions will actually stick.
I love all the possibilities a new year holds. Looking toward the new year I feel young. Full of hope and innocence as to what it may hold. Its not till Christmas that I feel old. When all that hope and innocence has been replaced with, well, reality.
Ohhhh, rereading that and I sound pretty sad! Im not sad, just reflecting. :) Hope you all have a Merry CHRISTmas! Spend time with people who matter. Indulge on a few treats, and work it all off in the New Year!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Cruise Food
We just returned from a week long Mexican Riviera Disney Cruise. It was a lot of fun and very relaxing! The girls had a blast! We even swam with the Dolphins in Cabo. When I say swam, I really mean SWAM and RODE! Yes, we each got a short ride on the Dolphin. It was an amazing experience.
A not so amazing part of the cruise was the food! I think I may have lost weight instead of gained it like normal. I am used to fresh, low fat, high flavor, healthy food. What I ate tasted bland, mass produced, not so fresh, and luke warm. Big bummer! Especially when you pay soooo much for a vacation. I understand that it can not be easy to feed so many people. Really the food was no worse than any other cruise I have been on. I am just more picky in my old age.
When we returned home I told B that i was going to make something fresh and healthy for dinner. He said yes please! So I grilled some boneless skinless chicken breasts with just salt and pepper. I steamed up a lot of spinach (it wilts so much that there never seems to be enough!). Then I went to the garden and stripped my basil plant to make some fresh pesto (basil, pine nuts, extra virgin olive oil, and parmesan cheese). I also took all of my yellow and red cherry tomatoes off the plants. I sliced the tomatoes in half, sprayed them with olive oil and roasted them in my toaster oven till they blistered.
I served the grilled chicken on a bed of steamed spinach. Smeared about a tablespoon of the pesto on the chicken and topped that with some roasted tomatoes. It was light, fresh, healthy and oh so tasty! I felt like I was eating real food. Yum!
I am thinking for our next vacation it would be nice to rent a house may be in Hawaii. That way I can make some of my own yummy food! The general opinion on my dinner was that it was better than anything we ate on the cruise. Hows that for a dinner review!
A not so amazing part of the cruise was the food! I think I may have lost weight instead of gained it like normal. I am used to fresh, low fat, high flavor, healthy food. What I ate tasted bland, mass produced, not so fresh, and luke warm. Big bummer! Especially when you pay soooo much for a vacation. I understand that it can not be easy to feed so many people. Really the food was no worse than any other cruise I have been on. I am just more picky in my old age.
When we returned home I told B that i was going to make something fresh and healthy for dinner. He said yes please! So I grilled some boneless skinless chicken breasts with just salt and pepper. I steamed up a lot of spinach (it wilts so much that there never seems to be enough!). Then I went to the garden and stripped my basil plant to make some fresh pesto (basil, pine nuts, extra virgin olive oil, and parmesan cheese). I also took all of my yellow and red cherry tomatoes off the plants. I sliced the tomatoes in half, sprayed them with olive oil and roasted them in my toaster oven till they blistered.
I served the grilled chicken on a bed of steamed spinach. Smeared about a tablespoon of the pesto on the chicken and topped that with some roasted tomatoes. It was light, fresh, healthy and oh so tasty! I felt like I was eating real food. Yum!
I am thinking for our next vacation it would be nice to rent a house may be in Hawaii. That way I can make some of my own yummy food! The general opinion on my dinner was that it was better than anything we ate on the cruise. Hows that for a dinner review!
Monday, September 12, 2011
Baby, Infant, Beans?
I have been homeschool the twins for first grade. In science we are learning about the developmental stages of human beings. First of all Infants. We learned how infant is another name for baby. Two days later we went to do review and then the next lesson in our books. So this is how the conversation went.
Me: Okay girls, we are going to do science. Remember how we learned a new name for baby in our last lesson? Do you remember what it was?
Twin Sweet: (without pausing blurt out) BEANS!
Twin Spicy: (bursts into laughter) No, not Beans!
Me: (Trying to contain most of my laughter) Twin Spicy do you remember the name?
Twin Spicy: Infant. Not beans!
Me: Okay girls, we are going to do science. Remember how we learned a new name for baby in our last lesson? Do you remember what it was?
Twin Sweet: (without pausing blurt out) BEANS!
Twin Spicy: (bursts into laughter) No, not Beans!
Me: (Trying to contain most of my laughter) Twin Spicy do you remember the name?
Twin Spicy: Infant. Not beans!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Egg-ceptional
Because of the crazy power outage in San Diego last night I had to improvise for dinner tonight! I sat by the pool reading Fine Cooking all afternoon (while watching the twins play with a friend, and stopping to feed, sunscreen, kiss skinned knees.....) and was inspired by the Beet Green and Poached Egg Soup. I have been growing beets in a large container and decided they were ready to be picked.
They are baby beets, because the container did not give them enough room to grow. So I chopped off the leaves and pulled some beef stock out of the freezer and made a take off of the fine cooking soup.
I had about 2 cups on beef stock that was left over from pot roast. So I added some water, two carrots cut into half moons, 5 small chopped tomatoes. I brought it to a boil and then added 1 cup Quinoa and the beet greens that ended up being just a small handful. Once the Quinoa was almost done I carefully added 4 eggs around the sides of the pot. I let them cook for about 4 minutes and then ladled them into bowls, with a helping of the soup.
Top it off with some shredded parmesan reggiano and a toasted piece of whole grain bread, and dinner was served.
The twins loved it! They ate the egg first by dipping the bread into it, and then asked for more egg.
Note: I did use stock that was had a higher fat content and had already been well seasoned. It was left over from a pot roast so it was the drippings and fat from the meat. I added only Salt and Pepper to my finished dish and it was just right. You could easily use any beef stock and add some additional seasonings in place of the drippings.
They are baby beets, because the container did not give them enough room to grow. So I chopped off the leaves and pulled some beef stock out of the freezer and made a take off of the fine cooking soup.
I had about 2 cups on beef stock that was left over from pot roast. So I added some water, two carrots cut into half moons, 5 small chopped tomatoes. I brought it to a boil and then added 1 cup Quinoa and the beet greens that ended up being just a small handful. Once the Quinoa was almost done I carefully added 4 eggs around the sides of the pot. I let them cook for about 4 minutes and then ladled them into bowls, with a helping of the soup.
Top it off with some shredded parmesan reggiano and a toasted piece of whole grain bread, and dinner was served.
The twins loved it! They ate the egg first by dipping the bread into it, and then asked for more egg.
Note: I did use stock that was had a higher fat content and had already been well seasoned. It was left over from a pot roast so it was the drippings and fat from the meat. I added only Salt and Pepper to my finished dish and it was just right. You could easily use any beef stock and add some additional seasonings in place of the drippings.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
An espresso a day keeps the mommy awake
I have been loving espresso since my recent trip to Italy. After I came home it only took 2 weeks before I had purchased an espresso machine. I found one on sale at Williams Sonoma for $200. I figure since I quite buying Starbucks everyday that it has paid itself off! $4 a day Starbucks drink time 90 days = $360. Not to mention the amount of money I save not buying the twins smoothies and scones while I was getting my coffee.
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