Juno California

Play- doh breakfast for you honey

2010-03-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

The reason I have abandoned ship.,

I have an assumed identity here,
I thought this would free me, finally find solace, a confession place,

A place where I could air out the things I can't - am afraid - to tell, not just to my partner, but even to myself.
But even here, I found myself afraid to put it out there - that which truly goes on in my life..
Even here, I find I am afraid of being judged for my choices (by whom?).
I was pregnant with what would have been our third child and I chose to have an abortion. (I said it)
I have only two followers, I don't think they would have noticed my absence as they are established busy bloggers who have added me to a long list of followers..
So basically I don't have readers.Still, I could not bring myself to talk.
Not being able to talk about the craziness in my mind made blogging unappealing.
How come even here and under an assumed identity I can not feel free to talk about what I really am going through?
Is it really about being brave?
Or maybe some things are not meant to be "out there" ?
It was a clear choice not to have this baby, the circumstances of my life simply do not permit it.
And yet, being pregnant once again, I found myself going through a whirlpool of emotions I never expected.
Of course, it all hormones as we women are always told.
But whatever we may call it - I was the one going through it and it felt real enough to make me want to jump out the window at times.
Now, almost 3 month later. It is still not over.
My body,
My state of mind
seems altered inexplicably.
I can not covey one ounce of it to anyone around me.
How difficult it is for people - even the ones closest to me - to phantom even a little bit of an experience they are not going through at the very moment.
This is a fact that never ceases to amaze me. But I know it to be true.
I have a friend who has lost her young husband to cancer, and as much as I try to imagine what she must ly, obviously be going through, I know I can not know the half of it.
I know that as much as I want and I try to be in the shoes of those around me whom I love and would love to offer help, even all the best I can do, I will still stand secure and removed from their pain, simply because it is not mine to experience (thankfully).
I was not going to even try to convey the myriad of emotions I was going through, to any of the busy mothers I know and consider friends.
I did not want to dwell on any of these emotions with my beloved partner, who was going through the motions of this decision himself. And living with an emotional lioness I have become while this is going on.
So what's the big deal?
I got pregnant -
I had an abortion.
Get over it for hell's sake will you?
I'm trying.
And there, I said it,
maybe I can get back to blogging after all
maybe it is worth it to find my voice,
It scares me - what I might find here
But maybe it is something I need to do
Because I am longing to write,
My fingers tickle as I read other people's blogs
And maybe fighting it is what's doing me more harm than good.
Maybe.

So simple creamed split pea soup and the joy - without being specific.

2010-02-06T11:59:00.000-08:00

It rained cats and dogs again today, so I continued with my soups and made a creamed split pea soup.

If it's raining where you are, or cold at all, this is the easiest most comforting soup.

It's ever so velvet-y and sweet and with some fresh bread and butter it's true happiness.

But as much as I recommend it have and already made it and yes, enjoyed it and will post the recipe.

This post is really about how this food translates into soul moments.

In this one particular day of my life it is about asking myself, not at the end of the day (when it's too late), but throughout, if possible, at any given moment. What kind of 'you' am I being with my Georgia and my Wylder and my Daniel today?

As it has not been easy around here lately, and the pressure does not seem to be about to relent anytime soon. It has been all too easy to fall into a pattern of being agitated, inattentive and with a growing desire exit through the front door,

and not come back.

Yes, it's been a pressure cooker lately and I'm naturally inclined to claustrophobia anyway.

So I made creamed split pea soup and I thought that compared to all the soups I had made lately this was the easiest one.I did premeditate on it in advance because I craved it and because the peas require 2-3 hours to soak in water, but that's the only 'hitch' about this recipe, I promise.

I do find, and this happens every time, that once I start translating a simple impulse to make something into instructions, they seem endless, as does the ingredient list.

But just think of it this way,

it's just some vegetables (whatever you have, really) simmered in good oil for 10 minutes.

then you throw in the soaked peas and 5 cups of water and that's it.

Keep this in mind when you read my instructions bellow and you'll be enjoying your soup in no time.

And look at this now, don't you want to eat it?

She found the joy

it wasn't premeditated

there was no sign of its arrival in advance

in the real time experience of things she has learned

that whatever she planned, or hoped for, was sure not to happen.

it must be in the art of surprise.

the fickle art of how not hope for what she hoped for?

how not to think, or imagine, or worst of all, yearn..../

this is what she found out:

as she had been disillusioned - many a time

as she had been disappointed- many a time

and now had lost her patience to a point numbness.

she may not have been aware of this, but finally she had

let go,

was floating.

In this unknown abyss

she had to relax her the soul muscles.

take a truly deep breath

(an art in its own right)

and then, and only then

when completely unprepared

without a thought of any kind

in the depth of sleep

it came upon her.

unexpectedly.

A warmth

enveloping her sleeping self.

a sweet breath.

a soothing touch and

all her defenses

fancy armor

fences of "touch me nots"

melted away

just like that

her conscious self

absent

and then

A blossom,

a shy bloom of a rare kind

to be known only by the touch of he who attends to her all year round

all day every day

who has and who holds

the moments

of the years

known in this twosome

her knight

in shining armor

her love

Recipe for creamy split pea soup.

21/2 dry cups of soaked split peas (before soaked in water)

4 cups of broth (chicken is my choice)

1 Tbls Miso dissolved in 1 cup water(or just another cup of liquid - water is fine)

1 medium onion.

3 cloves of garlic

3 leeks, (optional) if big two will do.

2 carrots.

4 celery stalks.

3-4 strips of bacon, or 5 Tbls of olive oil if you must.

1 tsp of dry or fresh Thyme

salt and pepper to taste.

allow the bacon to render its lovely fat

throw in the vegetables and cook for 10 minutes,

Don't let the veggies cook through, you want to leave them recognizable and bite-able.

Add the peas the chicken broth and Miso water.

Add Thyme and some salt, add more later and also the pepper in the end.

Allow to come to a light boil.

Then turn down the stove and allow to simmer covered for 1:30- 2 hours.

When done mash the peas and vegetables with a hand electronic mixer.

I do it very carefully when soup is still hot cause I can't wait to have some.

If you are using a blender you will have to wait for the soup to cool down.

when ready to serve drizzle some good Extra Virgin Olive oil.

And don't forget fresh country bread and butter.

Now, and this is completely optional.

while cooking it is recommended to have a glass of wine in hand (red or white - up to you).

And for main course,

A wonderful home made lasagna, the epic preparation of which will be on my next post.

Because this was one of those fun dishes that eveyone wanted to be involved in.

So the soup is really an appetizer if you will,

But there's a long interval between the two courses (even a day).

and for desert, cake is coming. . .

Pancakes for breakfast - good coffee, but no cake.

2010-02-04T12:52:00.000-08:00

This morning started with buttermilk pancakes. Georgia and Wylder requested them as soon as they opened their eyes.

It is our favorite pancake recipe and if I ever try to vary from it, even a bit (I attempted to introduce an oatmeal pancake recipe from the lovely Orangette lately), everybody complained fiercely.
I highly recommend giving this recipe a try, especially if you have kids,
Georgia and Wylder are the mixers and tasters. As we stand crowded over the bowl they dip their fingers in the sugar, and try out the batter many, many times before it hits the griddle. So if you like it's a family affair.
Recipe adapted from David Rosengarten. enjoy!
Best ever Buttermilk Pancakes.

Dry ingredients:
11/4 cup all purpose flour.
1/4tsp baking soda
1/4tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Wet ingredients.
In the pancake pan, melt 3 Tbls of butter (even let it burn a little, smells so good) and set aside.
In a bowl whisk together.
1 large egg
11/4 cup of buttermilk.
2Tbls sugar.
1tsp Vanilla
add the melted butter while whisking.

Now add dry ingredients, once brought together let sit for 5 minutes before scooping onto the hot griddle.
I usually use 1/3 cup size measuring cup as a scoop, this makes for medium size pancakes. .
Although they are made with butter we always smear on more before we drizzle the honey.
Yes, honey. myself I'm a maple syrup girl, but for some reason (Daniel) everybody else takes honey on their pancakes - not me. . . .

If I have any batter left over(I usually do) I make them all and warp in aluminum foil to keep in the refrigerator.
They can be warmed up in the toaster anytime, up to a week later, and they taste fresh and delicious.

For lunch it was simple chicken soup.

I had made it two days ago and am still enjoying it, as such soups get better a few days in.

I added Cannellini beans while I was warming up a portion for myself today. I love their rich creamy texture and it went very well with the soup. There aren't too many soup justifying days in LA so I'm making the most out of what little winter we got here before the heat strikes yet again.

Chicken soup is always a soul comforting food for me as well as supposedly being a very nutritious food choice.

Shortly afterward it was a perfect cup of coffee to that carried me through the afternoon. Sometimes I think I enjoy the choice of cup and the way it looks next to my computer, more than the coffee itself. I leave it on the desk a long time afterward just for the whiff of atmosphere it exudes.

I am trying hard to abstain from baking something this afternoon, as we still have some oatmeal muffins left, and no one in this household is as keen on baked goods as myself.

I always feel that cooking of any sort needs justification beyond just me and I don't want to over feed my family members especially not with cakes and muffins. That said, I need to bake, or at least cook something very soon and it will probably be on my next post if not tonight.
A good cup of coffee in the afternoon is always a mini celebration though, even without cake.
You might have noticed it's been mainly soups lately,
and no lovely sex to report either.
Yes, it's not just the lack of cake, but funny things go together.
There has been nothing sweet about our financial woes lately and these have not brought on a romantic mood.
Daniel has had to take on a job that he hates and while I'm hoping that some of our designs will be ready for a Baby show in Las Vegas next year (and that we'll be able to afford making them) Right now things are dire.
But things can change in an instant sometimes. It starts with something small and then before you know it there's hope and joy and sweet things too.
Next time you're here, if you see a cake . . . .
This is Mrs. Butterfly and Mr. Caterpillar made by Georgia this afternoon.

Soul search in Barley soup and oatmeal muffins?

2010-01-28T15:29:00.000-08:00

Today, required soul food and these are the foods that warmed me up from the inside.
I got the idea for Barley and beef (Ram steak in this case) from a wonderful blog called Feeding My Enthusiasm.
When I saw the picture of that soup I felt like something deep and forgotten from my childhood was unearthed and needed to be attended to.immediately. I had completely forgotten about barley and boy how I missed it.
The next day the soup was made and the flavor was better than the childhood memory.
The muffins were baking in the over while the soup was cooking on the stove and this place smelled like where I wanted to be. I added frozen Okra to my soup and used bacon to rendered fat to soften the vegetables instead of olive oil or canola oil, I know, I'm terrible, but I'll take bacon fat over the others any time. I also added parsip to the suggested celery, carrot, and mushrooms.
So you see, it was not even up to me, I was attacked by an urge to cook from beyond and was surprised to find out how soothing and healing it was to obey, eat to my satisfaction, and be calm.

She was not there,
Who was?
She could not be sure, but it wasn't herself.
It had been too long. The person she had come to identify as herself had changed and she did not know how to make friends with this new one, new what?
She missed some quiet, she had no patience, too often, she found no joy, but then, where did she want to be?
As the days wore on she learned to make it through, it took changing every single thought in her routine of thought.
No wonder she had become someone else, but staying away from the deep end depended on it. After a while there was no going back, the tracks had been erased, she had no desire to find them anyway.
In the new world, there was no use for the old ways.
She had to face it, all of it, all the time - reality
it never went stops, what with its multitude shades of gray.
New layers of it kept unfolding and there was no averting what was exposed, staring as it was - right in the face,
It was too much, for anybody, really, . . . so she had to numb it out - called "detach."
Detach, what an ugly word, but necessary, she kept practicing.
What to do?
Where was the inner voice that was suppose to know ?
It is said; if you look inside, fearlessly, relentlessly, unabashedly, you will find a new meaning, a new peace.
She tried, it wasn't there, really.
"Always, the non believer, . . . why should anything miraculous happen to you?
But she needed a miracle, so desperately. . . .
To feel her body floating up in the air in meditation. . .or something of the sort, it's all in the mind, why couldn't it happen?
just that feeling, for once, of having overcome her daemons?
So true to her nature she kept trying, because if nothing else she had always been a per-severer.
What was it that had the controls over her soul?
No, don't say it. It is to much to comprehend that it all boils down to chemical imbalances. .. that all she was came down to matter over soul any time any day.
Soul being merely the thing that trapped her inside this body.
Make yourself a cup of feel good tea and drink up, cause it ain't gonna get any better than this.
Yet, only earlier that very day she was so high on cloud nine.
And even as she was walking on that cloud she was aware, too aware of being in an ever so happy moment.
And what was going through her mind?!!!!!! here it is: "How long before the fall?"
Yes, that's what she was thinking!
She should have slapped herself right there in the middle of the step she was taking in the middle of that sidewalk she was walking, in the middle of the day she was living.
She took a picture.
A mental picture; one foot in the air, holding hands with her two children, one on the left, one on the right - a moment - her moment.
Her existence in that split second so palpable, she could taste it - the taste of newness, of delicious hope.
And all the while her mind contemplating the end of the step, the fall.
What was it, this way of thought robbing her of that protective innocence which was the very thing defining who she used to be?
Having lost it, how could she hope to be in the moment?

Yes, she knew the answer all along, still, she now had to survive it.

Now, now, . . . A phase, just a phase, . . . it'll be alright, it'll be OK,

"I am a child of the light,
I am loved by the light,
I am born into the light,
I am sustained by the light,
I am protected by the light,
I am surrounded by the light,
I am born anew into the light every moment of the day.
Amen!"

to be specific without being specific

Assorted bean soup for a rainy day in LA and some thoughts about love (making)

2010-01-26T16:42:00.000-08:00

Although she does not go to school Georgia has registered herself (by demand) to an afternoon "home work club." A program run by the city in our neighborhood park which allows kids to get help with homework after school.
Georgia, as I have mention before, is going through a Pokemon stage and that, for now, is the main incentive for going (so she could exchange 'valuables' with the other collecting club mates).
Of course, she is supposed to finish her assignment of work first.
Assignment being; writing a chapter of her own book.
For now her title is "A 7 year old journal." She has written quite a few very cute chapters that left us in awe, but as soon as we put it out there that she should write a chapter every time she goes to "Home Work Club" it wasn't interesting anymore.
That's how it works with Georgia.
Still, as I sit here and try to figure out what is most on my mind (besides food) to put down today, I can't help envy the ease with witch Georgia's pure and unencumbered psyche comes up with themes. True, her themes are a little underdeveloped and straightforward, but that is the enviable quality I so strive to achieve.
A 7 year old chapter (re the Horrid Henry one, Georgia's favorite book at the moment )can astonish with it's straightforward ease of flow, not to mention the incredible drawings that accompany some of the pages.
Call me crazy, but how do I achieve that?
Well, as an overloaded adult the only true writing comes from becoming a master editor. Yes, sadly good writing is good editing.

Being a person of accumulated memory and experience, I find my mind takes me on whimsical journeys of a sort that take me by surprise. It is my task to make sense of them and to put them down coherently.
Last night I found myself in my Grandfather and Grandmother's fruit tree garden (yes, like the Garden of Eden, exactly!). My grandparents had every fruit tree you could imagine in their yard, Including a huge Avocado and pecan tree. Looking back I can't believe the assortment of fruits they had. I don't recall my Grandpa, or Grandma doing anything special besides watering in order to get their trees to yield all that delicious fruit: There was plums (yellow and purple) pomegranate, clementines, small red berries of a sort unknown here, which my grandma would use to make preserves and another exotic fruit I have not seen here, kumquat and orange. When the grand kids came for holiday visits we were all over the trees picking and eating straight off the trees. My parents lived in a city apartment and so this (my grandparents' house) was the house of my childhood. Also the house were I spent my army years and lost my virginity when I moved to live with them at 19. Yes, I was a virgin until then.
Last night I was in that balcony on the second floor, the little guest quarters where I spent that time of my youth. I could smell the plum blossom and I saw the view of that little neighborhood on the outskirts of the big city, with the triangular roofs and electric lines and TV antennas, I saw myself sitting on the cold marble, leaning against the iron rail (which I could smell clearly as well), in that state of young pining I had forgotten all about. It is my acute memory of scent that had brought back the plum blossom beneath me as i sat there. In my reminiscent state of mind I remembered the smell of the air on that hot summer night and I remembered the way my youthful mind entertained the excitement in reliving secret moments of love from the night before (oh, if my grandfather found out!).
That house has been demolished for many years now, a big rich monster built instead by the new owner who purchased the land from the feuding siblings - the ones who were the beloved aunts and uncles of my childhood.
How ugly it all became since, have I?
I hope not. It is another life though, could easily be someone else's. The girl that I once was, so far from me now and when my brain brings her back so vividly, so alive, when I literally smell her thoughts - a lump forms in my throat. I just want to hug her, like I never did when she was me. And she needed a hug - from me.
What up? I asked my brain at the end of the day.
It was last night's love making that brought it on.
Stolen moments of closeness with Daniel after Georgia and Wylder finally fell asleep.
Some nights, it's suddenly different. Magically, a moment of connection that hankers back to something the mind didn't know it remembered.
And I know I could write a whole book about her, she whom I once was. Looking back and having the advantage of knowing - it turned out pretty interesting - her life did - for her.
This however, and without undermining the beauty, is mine.

Assorted bean soup for a rainy day in LA.
2 cups of assorted beans soaked over night.
5 strips of bacon.
1 healthy looking onion,
2 big carrots chopped.
4 celery stalks chopped.
1 fresh fennel chopped.
1 can of roasted tomatoes,
or 4 freshly cubed tomatoes. ( I dont' bothrer blanching and peeling if I use fresh)
4 cups of soup stock of your choice.
1 tspoon of cumin seeds,
1 tsp fennel seeds,
3 sprigs of fresh herbs, preferably thyme.
sea salt,
Malabar pepper.
Lots of parsley for garnish and nourishment. Mint is good too.
To make.
In a very big pot let the bacon yeild it's wonderful fat over high heat.
throw in vegetables and let soften, but don't thoroughly cook.
add herbs.
Wash and clean the soaked beans and pour into the pot.
Add the tomatoes, and cook for 5 minutes,
Add soup stock and salt and pepper.
Bring to light simmer partially cover (leave the crack in the lid so it doesn't over boil)
Cook on low heat for 11/2 - 2 hours,
Check to see desired texture.
When ready to serve drizzle olive oil and sprinkle parsley.
YOu can also puree part of the soup and pour it back to the pot for added thickness.
Daniel and I have been enjoying this soup 3 days now
It keeps getting better:-)
Enjoy!

Olive oil Muffins.

2010-01-24T16:52:00.000-08:00

So today, Sunday morning,
Georgia, Wylder and myself and I finally made those Olive Oil Muffins I found on Smitten Kitchen and have been conspiring to make ever since.
I have to admit, this sort of baked good is really my thing and no one else in this house hold shares my enthusiasm for bran and olive and other heavy baked goods of the sort
Kids will be kids, and Daniel whose favorite cake (which has now officially become his traditional birthday cake) is an almond and custard filled Gateau Basque, did not understand the charm of these muffins.
Now, having said this, it occurred to me that chocolate would be a great way to give these a perk.
Indeed, Georgia and Wilder, were all over them as soon Nutella was added..
To me the nutty chocolate-y Nutella only enhanced the flavors of the olive oil and citrus. Everybody was happy.
Well almost everybody, Daniel remained unsold on the idea. "Where do I fit in a craving for such a muffin. Is it breakfast? afternoon? dinner?"
I say all of the above, because (and not that I recommend this on a regular basis,) Georgia and Wilder are stuffed after having one of these satisfying muffins. Dinner will be served much later tonight.
Here's to lazy Sunday afternoons in the kitchen.
And then, to watching the sunset from the bedroom window.

What did she want after all?

2010-01-23T19:41:00.000-08:00

Breakfast.

She took him in.
A decision based on the way of his smell.
It was a scent she had never known in a man. Clean, but not from soap. The scent of his sweat staying buried in his dark armpits, irrupting from the depth of his movements surprisingly sharp yet enticing, pure, clean, innocent - of him.
It made her go back to a time when she played doctor with the boy next door.
Of hidden places in the back yard, the musty smell of wet earth in places that remain shaded. Could he be that boy ?
With him, she sensed his awareness to the warmth that almost attacked him as soon as he entered.
Hers was a shrine of personal collections, soft and rough in a contour of throbs that came and went.
Watching the moment form outside herself she felt that overwhelming wave that seemed to begin in her inner muscles and spread out in circular motions all the way to her heart.
The slightest of touch was enough to transport her into his existence, 180 degrees from her own. It made made for another wave of circular muscle emotion wash over her.
His, being unaware of anything besides the focused physicality of the flesh.
Completely engulfed in the totality of the now.
Always watchful she had grown old with herself, time and time again. Bored with her inability to participate.
He was in her protectiveness now.
All hers to keep warm and safe from the hurtful world - of course, that was her job.
She couldn't help thinking it, feeling it, as hard as she tried to resist, the maternal instinct.
Close to her breast she was too aware of her nipples contracting hard enough to hurt.
She couldn't suppress the thought of milk, of holding a baby boy, this warmth - unearthing a connection despite what should be an alienating difference. This, which sucked the marrow out of her woman's soul time and time again.
This knowing, that came with cradling an entity so different from her own - a man's.
She touched the taut soft skin of his arms, shoulders, back, his movement inside of her so determined, guided by a force beyond them, unstoppable, programmed sometime so long before now.
His face buried in that place between her shoulder and neck. The scent of his hair taking her to the balcony of her youth, to that hot summer night with the blossom of the plum tree mingling with the the new scents of a night after which everything would change forever.
A young girl yearnings for the love in a life ahead of her not knowing that the seeds of change had been planted already. From withing this watchful observation she was almost there again, experiencing her young self, allowed a precious peek into her long forgotten innocence, what it felt like to be untouched by the maligning nagging of a more experienced self. A self that never turns off, a constant noise that cannot be shut down. Why was it that she needed to be outside of herself to be inside of herself?
He would never bother to be so interested in going back into past moments. No, how pathetic, what purpose would that serve?
But she wanted him to look into her eyes right now, if only for a moment. It was she living this moment, even it was a repeating moment in time.
If he did, , , , had he looked in her eyes - the moment would freeze.
The scents, the memories would crack like icicles.
Would fall off and pierce her heart.
She wouldn't like it.
She would avert her eyes and turn cold.
She would die.

So what did she want?

Meditation, last night's dinner and some late night sex.

2010-01-21T11:42:00.000-08:00

I
just go there

Because I live in a one bedroom apartment with two kids and my beloved the bathroom is my designated office/sanctuary..
Still, I wake up every morning no later than 5:30 (before the little ones) and hope with all my heart that they will not awake before my 45 minute meditation is over.
I brush my teeth and bowl cleanse. I then seat myself cross legged with my back to the tub, and place my palms in my chosen mudra position on my knees.
I take a deep breath and I'm already sinking into a place of peace, self forgiveness and acceptance.
I take 9 more full lung filling breaths and breath out fully through my nose.
After than I start another kind of breath: I breath out forcefully tightening my lower abdomen while allowing it to expand back naturally. I do this for 10 minutes all the while envisioning all physical and spirit poisons forced out of my body making room for pure warming light to fill the gaps left by their exit.
I proceed to do deep expulsion breaths, - I breath in deep and blow air out for the length of a minute, at the end of each breath my tummy feels (and looks) sucked all the way to my back and I remain with it completely depleted of air for as long as I can. This particular kind of breath leaves my feeling absolutely cleansed and emptied of all lurking inner enemies, physical and spiritual alike.
I then will do 10 Om breaths, breathing out to the sound of my own voice and keeping it as long as I can (at least one minute). This kind of breathing always makes me feel (at least while I'm doing it) connected to the universe and being part of something beyond myself.
After this, I use my right hand to close right nostril with my thumb and use third and forth fingers to alternately close the left, I do this for 10 minutes while focusing on the light and on having good intentions for the day with forgiveness and patience especially toward my Georgia and Wilder with whom I spend every waking minute and often lose it.
After focusing on all this goodness and light I sit surrounded by a feeling inner peace (which I know won't last long, by I relish it) and allow myself to breath naturally for a while.
When I feel ready to let go of this place (which is hard) I snap my fingers and open my eyes charged with inner power and motivation I footsteps and someone (Georgia, Wilder?) is at the bathroom door already. I unfold my numb legs and emerge to face my day prepared and brave.
It doesn't take away my tendency toward unpredicted outbursts when I've had it up to . . . and I lose it. But over time (a long time) I am gaining a sense of understanding, acceptance and a newly acquired ability to loosen up and let go, which I know I never possessed before. It's an ongoing process though - God isn't everything. . . .

And for desert Grape fruit yogurt cake from smitten kitchen which also inspired the Pizza (with Mario Batalli's dough which I did not love even with Smitten's adaptations, but I blame myself, because I used whole wheat flour rather than regular, I always stubbornly make changes, I just have to - so annoying I am).
This cake is what happened directly after I announced (on the post before this one) that I'm ready to make Olive Oil muffins.
It's another law in life for me - whatever I plan and absolutely intend to do never happens.
I should learn to count on this law and anticipate the forthcoming failure to launch, but somehow I am always freshly surprised.
As Georgia likes to say, whenever we get sarcastic and and give her silly answers:
"I'm not gullible!" Yes you are!

as for lat night sex, I know I haven't been reporting about it as dutifully as was my intention when I started this blog, but as you may imagine that's because there wasn't that much to report.
Yes, I have to admit I have sunk into a period (almost two weeks) where I just wanted very little to do with any of it. And as much as I thought I was just going to conquer all that by simply "doing" the "easier said than done" law has proven me wrong yet again.
But to cut a long story short, last night we had some wild bathroom sex that made for a good angel sleep.
To be fair, I will also admit to my nonexistent readers that during these past two weeks some very real, yet unreported issues encroached grossly on my already naturally frowning disposition. These "issues" contributed to my mood dips during this period of abstinence, really, not just hormones - the ever blamable cause for everything feminine (and I resent this vehemently!)
But life goes on, and sex is part of it when you have a partner. So I'm feeling better today and hoping to have much more "betterness" to report at least in the near future as I can't account for much further (-:

The colors of her world

2010-01-17T22:26:00.000-08:00

I wait to see the picture she posts.
The big green tea cup with honey and milk
and that whole grain bread with what I imagine to be butter, jam and a slice of good stinking cheese.
Oh I am hungry, always hungry, always craving, somebody else's toast and tea.
An imagined inner calmness which I can never find.
The knowledge of being, of being at peace within.
She only writes a few sentences that speak of design and simple day tasks, nothing much, really, nothing to expose the innards, yet she has the talent to convey so much in a simple picture.
Not all of them, I have no patience for pictures of view, of white winters somewhere far from here, Nature's beauty bores me to tears. But when she posts a cup of tea and the little bag of Finish cookies beside it on her simple table in her simple tasteful home, I just want to die in peace.
There is not simplicity in my life, even though I too live in simple home and I too love my simple home. Every corner in my little home captures so much beauty I could ever ask for more in my daily picture.
But my home is not mine, and my life is apt to change. At any give moment i expect the rug of stability to be pulled from under my feet and everything I have called my life will change abruptly.
That's how it is for me. And for a homebody Torus that 's enough to shake every cell of security I don't posses even before it ever actually happens.
I am in a place of extreme financial duress, everything we have done and worked so hard for has brought this family to this place.
And looking at the path we have chosen, although unconventional and stubborn, no doubt, I have to admit that some lives are simply not blessed with luck in certain respects, period.
Money never came my way, no matter what I did. It apparently was to be my curse.
So now I brace myself, trying to adjust my brain to the make friends with the change and instability that is about to befall my way. Me, a mother of two who will have to some how feed and bed two children who holey depend on my for their every breath.
Really it is due to the light in the cold land where she lives. It is the light which allows for that sombre yet alluring flavor, a hue, a glow.
I know it, still, even though I don't really want to live there, to me it is so delicious.
It is raining to day. very befitting of my gloomy mood, but we will be alright, I know it.
Somewhere along the way luck will finally find us, there is enough out there and I only ask for a little.
But in the meantime it's time to make those Olive Oil muffins (a recipe I've been dying to make for a while now). I can see the picture I'm gonna take already, of one half bitten muffin with crumbs on the plate and a big mug of green tea with honey and milk on the side. I will describe the sweet savory flavor meticulously. I promise. :-).

2010-01-17T20:16:00.000-08:00

How was it for her?
Feeling trapped, mid forties,
3 children with a man she now found, but probably never admitted to herself, she could not stand for the most part.
When she had not a moment to herself.
During the evenings at home when everybody was driving her mad and while she was doing her endless evening mother chores her husband (who had no doubt worked all day and earned it) was sprawled on the living room couch snoring in front of the TV.
Sure he worked hard, but for her it never ended and she never got to have the "say" on what would or would not be done in her life unless by sly careful, cunning, manipulation.
How did she survive the claustrophobia?
Where did she go for solace?
But then again, she was not much of thinker,
did not have much expectation of life, and those that she did have she pretty much accomplished. Simple enough: A nice home, normal children which she considered beautiful,
a husband who compared to all the fat mediocre other men her friends and neighbors were married to seemed handsome, successful, talented, with a shining career which kept him out of the beautiful home for the better part of the day to boot.
Those were her hours of independence, her time when the kids were in school and he was at work.
She worked too, she worked hard, but it was her freedom time still.
Compliments earned from low men she came across in the markets and shops,
thinking that she was beautiful and cheating time while no one could ever guess she had 3 children no less.
She flourished like that, from those vapid complements, and times when she thought she was different from the rest of them, all of them - life.
She never seemed bored though, she did manage to keep herself stimulated while living in all that oppression.

I watch you, not give up, endless patience. Taking on a project and not letting go for days and nights at at time.
Teaching our daughter to sing, when she clearly is uninterested and doing her best to be done with it and go watch TV. It drives me crazy, I can't listen to the voices, to the effort, to the noise,
I admire you, but I want to scream, I want to scream because I could never do it,
I want to scream because you are driving me crazy and I don't want to be here.
I want to scream because I am not a good enough mother and I never will be.
Because I have no patience and I'm so bored with my life, with being me..
I am bored, but there's nothing I find my heart gravitating toward.
My confidence is squashed to zero and that's because you are the doer and I am the nincompoop.
Because between the two of us I have worked hard to earn this title and now it's too much effort to prove you or myself wrong and become a doer, a writer, an interested and interesting human being.
I have reached a point, a midlife crisis, where my life is nothing, nothing I ever dreamed it would be.
Where my disappointment and disillusionment is so so so I don't know where I could ever turn for a new beginning, I am clueless bored.
Why bored? because I find myself incapable of being, of doing, of having any trust in myself.
I am a shackled prisoner in my own body and soul which I despise.
The best line to describe my thinking at any given moment is "I just want to be left alone!!!!!"
Yes, I know, I am describing a depressed state of mind, I need help, pills possibly?????
But I am a loner at heart, the sort of person who would never turns outwardly for advice or help, and devout autodidact.
If I don't do it myself I won't do it at all.
And you see, there is something, somebody in here, that wants to climb out, because I am writing this.
meditation.

Haiti - a candle

2010-01-14T20:39:00.001-08:00

To Haiti,

A candle.

My funny Valentine.

2010-01-13T15:59:00.000-08:00

Coming back from the market.
I love vegetables and fruits, love to shop and come home with bags full and wash and prepare for use in my own bags.
Fridge stocked up with all that I'm going to cook - yum,

And that heart thing - y ???
That's Valentine
Her day is coming up you know.
Now don't be quick to judge a book. . . , she's very sensitive as she's all heart.

2010-01-08T17:58:00.000-08:00

Down in Little Tokyo.
A favorite restaurant of ours in little Japan is a simple unpretentious dive that serves up a mix of Japanese and Chinese favorite dishes.
We ordered Pork Ramen a beef chow main with vegetables and a side dish of vegetable Gyoza.

It's been a rough start of new year.
My new cell phone fell into the washing machine and died.
And all the prototype designs we were waiting on were delayed for what seemed like forever.
Nothing had began with the New Year and again we scrambled for rent.
But going out to eat in another world of food and culture made me feel new to myself and forget about my troubles completely (almost).
Finally today some of our designs arrived and they look so pretty that I got my hopes all up and going once again.
It amazes me how just what goes on in your head can make one day sunny and the other hopeless and gray. But then again, I even love gray days, so it's truly all how you look at it, right?

When we got home I made dessert,
I had made Olive Oil Yogurt cake the day before and now I added a quickly whipped a sauce from frozen blueberries and sour cream - delicious.

I'm determined to keep it sweet.
So what if things did not start at all gloriously,
They could still turn around and this will prove to be a good year after all, right? Right.

The Voyeur of New Year's Eve, or, The making of Shrimp Toast

2009-12-31T14:03:00.000-08:00

The Voyeur.

This year, with Georgia being 7, I feel that we are making it official - our Shrimp Toast tradition for New Year's. I hope she likes it.
Maybe even Wylder might, after all it's just really good fried food, but you never can tell with kids .

The sticker box is busy, she's open wide and the kids are picking out their choices to stick on to "Spy" tubes that Georgia made out of construction paper.

Ever so engrossed they are.
Momentary peace prevails as I watch them sprawled on the carpet, inventing and making rules as she goes along, Georgia, while Wylder must follow, "OK?" "OK"
It's New Year's Eve and I'm watching:
my home,
my Daniel
my Georgia,
My Wylder,
my thoughts.
Trying to find the spiritual lens to best capture it for myself.
Is this moment in time really happening - to me?
Should I feel like I've accomplished a lot this year?
It would be nice if I did, but I don't.
Just watching these two people on the carpet I'm in owe of life.
How it happens?
How little I actually have to do with it.
Really, I could not have invited two better souls into my life.
I would think so, of course - my beloveds.
But it's not as if I had any idea these were the hearts I would be getting.
I am feeling an intoxicating lethargy as I dedicate this day (didn't plan to) to watching my life through someone else's eyes.
Having started this blog this was my purpose.
Watch the days of my life unfold in a play written by someone . . . else.
Now - the flavors enhanced with curiosity - a voyeur's mesmerizing arrest - suddenly the daily dish thickens, layered with aroma.
How fascinating - all it needed was to be touched by a complete stranger - (watching) to gain all this depth.
And I discover, it is there - all the time.
Even in what I deem to be the grayest of days.
It is there!
Waiting to be watched.
In Georgia's fingers dancing on the piano as her dad sits on the arm of the sofa, next to her, instructing her.
In the purity of Wylder's body in a luscious bubble bath.

And wait. . . there's more, in the kitchen, soon, all of us making Shrimp Toast, our New Year's tradition.
Daniel and I toasting with a slim glass of Champagne,
My heart swells as I catch that glimmer in his dark eyes .
Georgia and Wylder participating witnesses - a moment - an imprint - a memory.
- my beloveds.

The making of Shrimp Toast - 2010

The flattening.

The shrimp pasting.

The cooperation

the frying.

May everything we wish for and beyond - come true this year.
Happy 2010!

A Home Schooling day - how it goes

2009-12-30T11:53:00.000-08:00

Off they went,
Buttoned up with umbrellas to boot to look for snails in a rare LA light rainy day.
Georgia, the snail lover, tapper wear container in hand, ready to capture and bring home to me the unwanted slimers.

People always ask me, "so how do you do it, how many hours a day? do you start in the morning and teach for a few hours?"
Well, no.
I don't have a schedule, I don't follow any strict regimen or any home school program out there (and there are many).
First thing in the morning (between 7 -7:30) Wylder and Georgia get to start the day whenever they wake up playing their Nintendo or watching TV. This goes on 'till about 9am. When Georgia will be called upon either to do a chapter in one of her homework books, Math, Language, spelling. This will take her about an hour, mostly because she'll spend a good amount of time on pouting and complaining that she needs urgently to be doing something else. Then she'll usually practice piano with her dad for another 25 minutes.
Then she's free to do something which does not involve a screen. Read maybe????? NO WAY!
Wylder will be called upon to play educational games on his dad's computer, as opposed to the non educational ones he was playing before.
Then, in the late afternoon or evening we will sit down to read (Georgia and I) and look up difficult words in the dictionary. Georgia likes the dictionary.
Wylder will be busy counting and talking in numbers throughout the day.
This morning he was playing a math game when Daniel said to him "call me when you get to 1000"
Wylder replied. "No, 100, dad, 1000 is too much"
During the day we'll often ask Georgia to answer timetable questions and spelling words, but very casually and not in a sit-down manner.
computer games are the best. But for, sure, screens are by far the favorite play object in this house hold so all too often we simply take advantage of that if I need to get anything done.
Here's what happened today for instance. Georgia wanted to make a short film to send to the "I Carly" TV show, She loves the show and is always looking for ways to get on it.
Her initial idea was to make a film about, how to crack open a coconut.
Mission accomplished they (Daniel Georgia and Wylder, with me hovering in the background taking my own pics in the other camera) moved on to shooting other things.

Namely, a "tickle my brother short. Wylder is very good at being tickled.
He gets into a laughing fit quite willingly and was happy to "act" his part for the movie.
It turned out to be a busy day and that's almost without leaving the house (accept for a short stint to look for snail, which were never found).

Afternoon tea.

And call it what you like break.

Nintendo DS and Banana Squash for dinner.

2009-12-29T15:43:00.000-08:00

I live in a house hold dominated by computer screens and computer games..
In our small one bed room there are four computer (screens) two Nintendo games
And One TV (screen)
Georgia and Wylder wake up in the morning and immediately dive into their Nintendo. I allow it because that's how I get my sun saluting to happen.
About and hour later (when I'm putting breakfast on the table) they are still in a far away land with Wylder singing along with the game's suspense music the whole time. It takes some serious temptations to wiggle the screens out of them and allow the "Tendos" as we call them to go to sleep and get charged.

The "Tendo" obsession began when he was two.
We had finally agreed to get Georgia (who was 6) her first Nintendo. To our great surprise Wylder immediately took over the device and had complete control of the buttons and screen.
Terrible fights ensued and 2 days later we got our second "Tendo"
True, the boy taught himself the ABC at 19 month (Lower case as well as Upper), but this????
Now at three, he can count to 10,000, he can count by ten, he can count by hundreds, you name it the boy is obsessed with numbers. I'm not saying "Tendo" is good education.
I don't know what it's doing to his little/big brain. I am however, very curious to see the kind of people this "screen" generation will evolve into. but for now it remains to be seen.
Georgia is, and always has been proficient with computers and she too was reading by age 3, but Wylder's command of the screen borders the eerie.
I think it's a generational thing because I can attest to the fact that Wylder was born with it.
I think this is an important chip and for Wylder there ain't anything I can think of that would provide him with the kind of constant stimulation that he needs as well as computer games do, many of which are educational.
When he was only days old he would stop crying promptly and was mesmerized if we started counting.
But still, watching him I worry. My homeschooling philosophy is that being at home is important. We spend the majority of our time inside rather than in parks and other out door amusements, so screens do come with the territory, it's just finding the balance, the constant battle. The same as it is with sweets, all day everyday.
My kids will prefer a screen to a book anytime. And although I read to Georgia and she enjoys it very much, for the most part it's a screen that she'll be glued to. I had always imagined myself reading to my daughter, but she was never was enthusiastic about sitting down to read.

But that's for a whole 'nother post.

As for today's menu. I present to you ... Bulgur..
Banana squash with Bulgur.
Bulgur is one of my favorite grains (I have many though).
The beauty of bulgur is that it doesn't need to be cooked at all.
I often just pour boiling water over it (just enough to cover) add butter and salt and cover the dish. After just 10 minutes you got a wonderful pasta like dish that is way healthier and yummier. Georgia looooves it.
For tonight dish:
I whole onion peeled and cut
2 pounds of Banana Squash (any squash will do)
1/2-1 cup bulgur.
3 tbls of chopped parsley.
3tbls Extra Virgin Olive oil.
Sea salt.
Instructions.
Saute onions 'till transluscent.
add squash and sautee until soft.
If needed add water as you cook to speed up the process (I like to add broth for flavor)
When squash is soft add the bulgur (add liquid only if necessary be careful not to make a soup)

Add Parsley just before serving.

I served it with home made Tahini on the side.
Made according to the instruction on container. (be sure to get a good quality Tahini made of 100% sesame seeds.
For protein we had hard boiled eggs with this.
Bon Appetite.

As for sex, I can only report about last night. Yes we had ourselves some great sex. I guess I'm still excited about the new liberation I've discovered in my latest resolve, but to say that I(we) will keep this up for ever . . . . .

Sweet Dreams.

When in doubt, have sex.

2009-12-28T11:48:00.001-08:00

Morning,
Yes, I know, I said it was going to be about sex, but that doesn't mean there is not a day that leads up to it.
Allow me to warm up by telling you about food (very connected to sex).
Starting with breakfast, my favorite part of the day.
At 8:30 today after meditation and saluting the sun, I was making tea for myself and coffee for sleepy Daniel.
The usual Irish Steel Cut Oatmeal is in the picture too . Made with whole milk, cookedd slow and long on low heat (25-30 minutes with a little milk added every 5-7 minutes) and a few large grains of good sea salt. (A kitchen timer is absolutely necessary to have on hand, or else!)
Today I am making an Omlette that I make a lot because Wilder (who is a very small eater) will eat it (not Georgia) and it's a delicious way to get him to eat some spinach.
Today is also my first time posting one of my very own recipes.
So here it is with pictures of course.
Recipe yields three portions.
1/4 pound Firm Tofu; (makes between 20- 30 nicely cut white cubes)
4 eggs.
3/4 cup cut spinach.
a healthy pinch of good sea salt
Two twist of the pepper mill filled with (preferably) Malabar Pepper
Tbls of Grape seed oil
Tbls of butter
How to make:
In a bowl mix ingredients well (I use a fork so as not to mash the Tofu, I like to leave the cubes)

Start on high heat, I let the oil and butter heat up in the pan before I pour in the mixture.
Give it a good seven minutes until the edges of the omlette start bubbling and browning.
That's when I cut in half and even 4 and start flipping. (no I don't bother to leave it whole, it's divided into plates anyway.
After flipping turn down heat and give it another 5 -7 minutes on other side so that the eggs will be cooked through,
Serve with toast and butter and, of course, Irish Steel Cut Oats.
Enjoy!

As for the sex, as much as I would like to have it after a beautiful meal, unfortunately for us, not with breakfast, but later, much later.
When the evening (night) arrives and it's finally our time. I am exhausted! It's been a long day, not a moment to myself and all I want to do is lock myself in my office (bathroom) do my nightly cleansing and go to bed. So of course, the easiest casualty in this daily grind is the sex - tomorrow - I tell myself - "tomorrow".
I go and give Daniel a distant kiss goodnight(cause there's not going to be any sex tonight) and off I go, (leaving him at the computer).
But, somehow, this does not work out well for me. I lay there in the empty bed, listening to my children's sweet breath and I toss and I turn and I try to breath deep and blank my mind but as tired as I surely am, sleep escapes me. It has taken me a long time to come to the realization that when in doubt have sex. I need Daniel's warmth, his hug and I need to be close and break the barriers and allow myself to come undone and let go, more than, are you ready for this? Sleep!
Yes, I said it, even when it's the last thing I want to do, having been a mom all day and certainly not in touch with being sexy - the truth is, I need sex! So lately, when this happens, I don't wait, I, just do it! I take it! and I allow myself to be selfish! to be demanding! to be greedy and get an orgasm! To me the best "turn on" is when I feel Daniel being close to his and I'm hoping this works both ways.
Needless to say - afterward falling asleep is easy, even if Daniel chooses to get up and go back to his computer, (he likes to work late at night when the house is quiet) I still sleep easy, with the bed all to myself, but now it's OK.

**************************************************************************************
We often sit down together with the kids (either Daniel or me) to draw before bed time. Georgia and Wilder will otherwise spend this time bouncing off the couch and walls, because of course the more tired the more wired.
Here are tonight's creations

Wider said this was a Robot,
And Georgia was into snails this evening, what with the snow woman and all. She made herself a hairpin of a snail stuck on a chopstick and wore it in her hair all evening Happily.

One of my favorite bedtime calming teas is fennel seeds with a cinnamon stick.
If you let it steep for a while the cinnamon, besides its wonderful aroma will gives the tea some serious sweetness.

Sweet sleep

Need a better year.

2009-12-27T16:50:00.000-08:00

Sunday.
Woke up late - Wylder kept waking up on and off between 5 and 6am.
After my morning routine(meditation, yoga) - Made breakfast. Here in the pic Irish Steel Cut Oats, a breakfast staple.
Finally at around 12 we went to the Farmers Market. I loooove the markets.
Wish I could shop only in the fresh farmers' market, but today we went just for fun and I always get inspired.

I always over shop at the Farmer's Markets, just can't help myself. And I end up hating myself when I have to throw away the spoiled produce,). Did not shop today, just took pics and enjoyed the scene.

The truth is I was overcome by worry today and it was good to be out.
Surely it is time for a change and yes making a move, even if forced, will shake things up for us. Luck has not been on our side where money is concerned and we can't afford our lives any longer. But some days I am able to be braver than others. Today I'm a chicken. Can't phantom losing my home.

Some of Daniels designs on fabric and plates.

Saturday

2009-12-26T11:03:00.000-08:00

Morninig,
Wake up at 5:30 - Meditation.
Sneak out for an early morning swim and sun salutations. Not without leaving Georgia and Wylder a piece of pear bread we made last night.
coming home - Georgia and Wylder are deep into their Nintendo DS screens, having eaten the morning slice of Pear Bread.
I make coffee and bring it to Daniel who is still in deep asleep, with a slice of pear bread, of course .
Later we'll have fried potatoes with hot dog and egs.
The day begins, slowly for Daniel, 3 miles ahead for me.

It often starts like this - a tiger, ready to conquer the world.
But then the daemons set in, not just the reality of my current situation, but also my inner ones.
They creep up on me at night, even as I am trying to bond with my lover. They are mine - always present within me. Mine alone and can't be shared.
I want to share their weight, their taste, their feel, with Daniel, but I can not.
I want to be able to say it all, to let it out, to let myself free in crazy sex.
But I am choked, bound by shackels, held back, by pride, by shame.
Some people can do that -you know, let go. Not me - how I envy such freedom.
It is inside of me, what ever ales me. I will carry it around for the life that mine.
And all the apparent drawbacks in my 'reality' are just mere manifestations of the shadow my daemons cast upon my life.
It is not as dark as it sounds, we all have them. It's just a matter of awareness.
Our reality is only a thumb print in the path we carve out for ourselves as we go along in our life. Each and every one of us with our very own kind of "issues" which create the same kind of problems for us, again and again and again.
In my meditation, in my dreams, in my conscious effort to become familiar with my unconscious. I try to free myself.
To sneak up on myself before I do my thing.
To surprise myself.
To scare myself.
I always hit the closed door.
It slams shut in my face just as I am about to enter it.
Juno,
I am just such a Juno.
And there's no way out.
It is said that awareness is half way to cure. I have always found this sentense an insult to my intelligence.
I herewith proclaim it false, you hear me, false, the more you know the more complication your life begets. That's my opinion.

Returning to the beauty of this one Saturday afternoon,
I went for another long glorious walk around Sunset Strip. Just love that I live right at the heart of Hollywood (well, almost).
Daniel took a picture of the sunset from our bedroom window while I was gone.

Dinner was kept light - hard boiled eggs, cauliflower with garlic and bread crumbs (and Mac&Cheese for the kids),
We had, yet again, Boeuf Bourguinnone for lunch, (getting better still) Followed again, by Brie, afternoon coffee and dark chocolate.
I must admit though, I am ready to stop writing this big name.

Sliced oranges for desert.

When I got home it was bath time for Georgia and Wylder (later for me )

Wylder loves his bath time and I so enjoy filling a tub of perfect temperature water and helping him in. Bath is so important for kids, it gives a break and relaxing time which they don't know how to take otherwise. I like to put some Magnesium salt in the water, it's ever so calming.
Afterward we are all ready to enjoy the evening. Everyone finds a corner to do something, alone, or together.
By 9pm though I'm beginning to feel overwhelmed by all that I still want to do, a pile of dishes and Georgia and Wylder not at all ready to go to bed.

when I attempt to put them to bed I often find myself falling ready to fall asleep myself.
Bedtime takes forever, have to tell a thousand stories and then smootching and then more kisses and more hugs mainly for Georgia who refuses to let go of the day, allow it to end.

I must find a way to make bed time survivable for me.
But in the end, I never just fall asleep with the kids, not me, not never.
That would be nice, but going to bed early is not in my book.
I wake up at 10:15pm go to finish up cleaning. Find that Daniel had done the dishes.
To me that's making love.

I am still here - it's 12: 32pm.
yes, there's little sleep in my life. But that's the only way . . .
Daniel is taking a shower and I'm uploading my pictures of the day.
Until I actually go to sleep a lot can still happen but that's for later:-)
Sweet dreams.

Xmas day

2009-12-25T10:31:00.000-08:00

Xmas, morning,
A beautiful crisp day.
Sun salutations in a beam of light coming form our big glorious living room window.

Morning green drink for me
Irish steel cut oatmeal and country bread with avocado and of course,, Italian Machiatto coffee which I take a little of as well.

later, bacon and eggs with Chai tea and soy milk.
And . . . figuring out the day.
List of things to be mindful off:
Be calm,
Be self conscious and try to love yourself even when you hate yourself.
Never raise your voice,
When you are ready to explode with impatience during the lingering afternoon hours either take a walk, or take a breathing break in the bathroom (do it before it's too late!).
Love yourself, love yourself, if you remember to love yourself you will be a great Mom today.
As for cravings:

A) don't forget the power and beauty of a freshly brewed cup of tea, all you need to do is take that time to enjoy it!
B) Do not forget the power of self restraint, in the end of the day it feel goooood, and the next day even better.

Sounds superb Juno , now sit back and watch the show.
oh, and don't forget to enjoy it!

It's 1pm - third pile of dishes of the day is happening.

When you have no money the weekends and holidays seem three times as long.
Our new business is an endeavor which takes more patience than I imagined.
The holiday is a time to make friends with doing nothing as far as moving things along for yourself go.
But worry will get me nowhere.
At birth Daniel was endowed with patience in abundance. Sometimes, just looking at his calm ease makes me want to scream! I am worried! I got a lot to worry about! my insides are on fire!
But Daniel is designing the products that hopefully will sell, while I'm the one with the time to sit here and think about all the "What ifs"

will there still be a roof above my head next month?
I don't think I'll be good at having to move out of necessity not knowing where I' going.
Not to mention it ain't going to be a place of my choice.
You must not think of this now, got to keep it together! You're the mom around here, an adult, remember?
Yes, and then there's always the laundry, thank god for the laundry.

A quiet day, the kids watching TV in the bedroom covered themselves with a pink blanket and sank into a hypnotic state.
At 3pm we warmed up the Boeuf Bouguinnone. As expected with such a deeply rich stew it was better today and probably will be better tomorrow.
I took a long brisk walk at 5pm. Got home and discovered at new post from Smitten Kitchen.
It was for Pear Bread, it looked wonderfully easy and fun to make with Georgia and Wylder and I had all the ingridients. well, almost, the recipe required 4 pairs and I only had two, so we made it with 2 pairs and 2 apples. How bad could it be?
So we made Pear Bread. Lots of lickings . . .. .. mmmmmm

And now it's almost 9pm and everybody's waiting to taste the cake that just came out of the oven before bed time. Hot and steamy we all dig in.
Yummy . . . .
v

On her post, Deb said that this cake gets better everyday, hitting it's best on the fifth day.
Well, I don't know about the fifth day, it'll be lucky to sruvive 3, but one thing's for sure, it's pear (and apple) bread for breakfast tomorrow.
Now, that's something worth getting up for.

Thursday morning,

2009-12-24T11:48:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, breakfast, the best part of the day. And today, the day of the eve of Xmas we begin with our favorite buttermilk pancakes a la David Rosengarten, of course.
I have to say, Wylder and Georgia love licking the batter more than the finished product, but after much fuss and preparations and table setting and honey and pasting the butter in a face shaped lumps on the pancakes, (on top of the butter which the recipe calls for anyway) it takes five minutes for every one to gobble down the food and vroooom. . . . they disperse .
My favorite part is the deserted table left behind.
Some of the kitchen wear you are looking at is from the collection of Daniel's designs.
Today we make the Boeuf Bourguinon!
Georgia speeds into my face every 10 minutes or so (or should I say everyone minute) to ask "when do we start?"
I suggested pancakes as something to make while waiting to make, but apparently it was no match for the great expectations.
Georgia is always waiting for that which comes next. I suppose ( I hope) this is typical of some 7 year olds. Such impatiens would be very difficult to live with, I would think.
We decided the endless stages of browning reducing and simmering (because David Rosenarten adds a few stages to Julia Childs') will begin at 2 pm so that we can eat around 6pm.
But Daniel and I are already sharing a glass of red wine (at 12pm) with a bite of brie (we got for desert) and some lovely country bread (which the recipe requires) just to get in the mood.
I am glad to report that Georgia has tasted her first bite of Brie and loved it!

I realize, as I am documenting our life, how much detail and love we give to what we eat and how we put it on the table. How better to depict the heart of a family than through our eating habits.
Seeing what is turning up on my posts I realize also how badly I have been yearning to find people, another couple, like us. To invite over for elaborate meals some times. To venture out to the many ethnic incredible restaurants waiting to be discovered in the vastness of this town. Of course, this must be a couple with kids who is used to and willing to the struggle in takes to enjoy a restaurant meal with two young children. Indeed not easy, but I'm sure that somewhere out there, there is a family like us, who travels in a pack and takes their kids everywhere and love food at the same time! Are u out there???????
It is 12pm on this lazy day and better hit the shower before I get too tipsy to care.
to report back soon.

The aromas in the apartment are intoxicating.
one bottle of Pinot Noir Bourgongne later we are all ready to eat, well, except Wylder who is on his third green apple and seems to be oblivious to the fragrant air he is inhaling.
after 3 hours in the oven it's time for the finishing touches which include adding the caramelized pearl onions, the white mushrooms sauteed in butter,the pork bits that have been reduced to crispiness and the thickening sauce -Beurre Manie.
I take a spoon full of sauce to check for flavor . .. . layers of flavor attack my tongue. We have made Texas chili not too long ago (in August), but this is soooo rich.
6:30 we finally sit down to eat with yet another glass of wine, simple baked potato's and some of that wonderful country bread, . . .
wish the pictures could yield some of the aromas here.

desert was kept simple tonight, more brie and then fresh dark chocolate with nuts,
And, of course, a freshly brewed cup of tea.
Tonight's flavor of choice, a soothing - Pasiflora (Passion Fruit).

Still taking orders . . . .. :-)

Daniel's night cap
was. . . .

After the kids had fallen asleep Daniel and I made love in our bed.
Yes, in the room with the kids sleeping all around us.
The thing about making love in a room with your kids is knowing your own kids.
As for my kids, when they're asleep, they're asleep.
It's as simple as that.
I felt like we were in a boat, rocking gently to a somewhat drunken calm ocean rhythm.
The walls were still emanating wine fumes and so was our breath, all of ours, it seemed.
We were tired. It had been a long satisfying day of cooking, but most exhausting of all, as it turns out, is the waiting.
Sweet Dreams, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite.

Wednesday evening.

2009-12-23T18:51:00.000-08:00

Morning steel cut Irish oats.
We eat every day.
Wylder looooves it, Georgia, on and off.
I looove it and so does Daniel.

We never made it out of the house to buy the ingridients for the boeuf bourguignon yesterday.
We never left the house.
I worked on my blog and took a long bath in the evening, I like to take baths on swimming days when my chlorinated skin feels like its crawling with drying bugs.
It was the kind of day I have come to appreciate, much to the chagrin of Georgia who is always hopping and skipping and bouncing off the couches, as opposed to her brother who is a much calmer fella.

So today we finally went out, to shop fir the great dish we are planning to eat tomorrow night, Xmas eve. This after watching the movie "Julie and Julia" last week. Georgia was ready to cook Boeuf Bourgeinion as soon as the movie was over.
Wt can not afford to eat out usually, (and nothing new today) ,but we are always looking for very reasonable good places to go which might almost compare with eating at home. Today we headed for a place we found out about which serves fresh Vietnamese fare. After a meltdown on Wylder's part (he was going going mid day no nap crisis. Some scenes ensued (but we only go to noisy and casual places these days), finally we settled down into our meal, Wylder included and there was peace for 10 minutes (we eat fast these days).
The food was simple and fresh and light and even Wylder, who would rather skip a meal for a green apple any time, ate well. I wish I had my camera, to take pictures. Next time, I promise.
Our financial wows have to do with more than the economy at this point in time,. but this being only my second post I shall leave the troubles for another time - perhaps.

Then when we reached the Farmers' Market for our favorite butcher, some scenes with Georgia who is trying to have us buy an ever growing list of things whenever we go anywhere. (The list might include anything from ice cream to donuts moving on to fake snow flake powder, webkinz and so on and so forth you name it etc. and finally shopping for food.
I lost it along the way and raised my voice more than once (to put it mildly).
We got home exhausted as usual,
Ready to attack the making of . . .(such a long name) it turned out that the beef only needed to be put in a red wine marinate with herbs and vegetables, there was no cooking to be done tonight (as the beef needs to marinate over night) Georgia's was greatly disappointed, but we enjoyed a glass of wine and got in the mood with "Alone" by Heart, watched all the versions of it on YouTube and read a chapter of Enola Holmes Mystery. She is Sherlock's 14 year old sister clearly on her way to making one very sharp detective. I love reading well written books (usually British) to Georgia. Despite her twisting and wiggling every which way looking for any possible distraction, I managed to get through a chapter and look up some words in the dictionary together. Georgia has been a reader since the age of 3, but getting her to sit her scrawny butt down and get into a book is no easy feat. In any case, this book would be too much for her and I enjoy reading it myself.
Later, much, afater Georgia and Wylder finally went to bed we had Balance Ball late night sex. Calm and stretched out from the inside out I went to bed, but Daniel stayed up as usual, designing on the computer until 3am.
There is no end to the places and positions to be found in our small adobe and that's not to say the bedroom is out of bounds just because two kids are sleeping there. But that's for another post, perhaps.
And tomorrow, swimming in the early Am and Boeuf Bourguinon in the early afternoon and everything in between.
Good nite.