There will always be people in your life, Stacy, who hold you back, who cost you too much, and who fail to see all you've done for them. But, of course, they're just there to teach you that you do have time, that you'll always be rich, and that your own high standards are all that matter.

You knew that,
The Universe

And here I thought I was the teacher. Silly me.

So all in all, it's better to live as if there are no "do-overs," so that you won't need one. But I thought I'd share this with you anyway, to work in the bits about fear, mistakes, and how precious today's opportunities really and truly are.

That's my message today. Well, it's part of it and it's the part that I like. We'll see what we can manage to do with our day today!


First, everyone needs to get fed:


Okay, now we are off...this is actually my attempt to get Madeline to take a nap because she just won't go with us home all day!
I will post more pictures later from our week at home.

Here is a video of our little independent girl! She is so determined to do just about everything herself.


And this video just speaks for itself...

Messages from the universe.


You just never know how close you are, Stacy.

Best to assume "very, very, very."

Verily,
The Universe

Ever heard of this? It's funny yet, usually, so true. Even though the messages make me smile, I am usually also thinking, "woah, totally. How did they know just what to say?"
It's this website called tut.com and they send messages as often as you like and they are just little daily messages that say something poignant. I look forward to them every morning!
This one from yesterday can probably be taken more than one way but I take it to mean, get off your ass, what are you waiting for, this could be your last day! I think that's a great way to try and live your life...anyways...
So, Madeline is doing great these days. She just got over a wicked cold/cough. It's horrible to hear such big and deep coughs coming from such a little girl. We have gotten rid of the crib and we gother a little toddler bed. She so far, loves to jump on it and play with her little animals. Sleep? No, not yet. Next week during break when her and I are home alone, we will be working on this.
Anyways, I am off to cook dinner!

Dinner on Friday Night.

Mint Sambol
Cauliflower Dum
Bangla Dal with Lime
Bangla Slow Cooked Beef with Browned Onions and Chapatis

How can I put into words how much I love South Asian foods? I have decided that what I want to do is move there, anywhere in the region really, and learn how to do the food the right way. Then, move back and do Fine Dining Asian food. There is just so much flavor and so many layers to one dish that it makes me crazy. I just don't understand how they eat like this every day. There are so many steps and ingredients to each dish...there much be an easier way...this is my new quest! To find out how they do it so easily! Anyways, that's my dream this week. Next week it could and probably will be something completely different.
Here is a picture of the dinner!

Here also, is a video of Madeline thoroughly enjoying Christmas music. She could not get enough of the piano playing snowman! She has learned a few new moves. She has some pretty good rhythm and it's only getting better. Last night we found out that not only does she like OCMS's Wagon Wheel song (ofcourse) but she LOVES the band and all of their music. She danced for the entire cd and for the entire set that they played on Austin City Limits. Maybe she has lots of great dancing in her future!

Happy Birthday To Me!!!!



It's snowing! Can you believe it? It is so nice. I love it when it's cold outside and we are so warm inside with our fire. Heaters just don't compare on days like this...

It was my 34th birthday last Sunday and we had a feast. Take a look at what Mike prepared. This is actually a picture of 11 crab. I guess the picture does not do them justice. We had some of my favorite people over for some
of my favorite things to eat and for dessert, rather than cake, which I do not care for really, we had brownie sundaes.

Madeline was sick all last week. I thought she was teething and I still think she was but it was just awful. She had a cold along with a fever on top of teething so she was not happy at all. It was a very hard week to be completely honest. She really loves to brush her teeth which is highly encouraged. She really likes to do it herself however so we humor her for the first few minutes then we have to grab the brush and brush her teeth for her very quickly. Then she always has to wash her hands to finish up. She is definitely a creature of habit. And our nights are going very well. She is sleeping straight pretty consistently from 12 to 5 which is a huge deal for me. This is a lot of hours right in a row for me. However, she is still in the bed which I love for a lot of reasons but also, for a lot of reasons I am kind of over it. She is just getting so dang long! She's kind of a bed hog too and she doesn't like covers so she is constantly kicking her feet to get them out of the covers! Crazy girl. I think rather than moving her into the crib, that I would prefer to just move her into a little toddler bed. She can get up when she needs to, she sleeps on mattresses like that everyday at school and they won't have the jail bars on them which she despises. I think I will look into those soon! Anyways, wish us luck!

Hey everyone!
So, I am trying to post videos and this site is just giving me so much trouble! I will keep trying tonight. There are a couple that capture her personality oh so well and are quite entertaining. She has become very serious with her new facial expressions! There is a devious little grin, there is this fabulous look of shock and surprise with a little gasp added in sometimes for emphasis and there is a furrowed brow with some arm crossing...I have no idea who she gets that one from...I think it's Mike! ;)
Anywho, keep checking back my loyal (4) followers...I will try and be more persistent with posting this stuff!

AH! Finally! Here is bath time. She has finally started letting us give her baths again thank goodness! She loves the bath again.

Dancing queen...
This spinning circle is something totally new. So interesting to watch her and to see what makes her happy! I hope it's always this easy but something (reminding myself of what I was like in high school) is telling me I am in for a long and bumpy ride!

We went to see Old Crow Medicine Show tonight. They were SO good, as usual. I put two videos up. One is old but they still sang that song and the other one is from a month or two ago. If you have never heard them you should! They are so fun and so talented.
Enjoy, I am going to go cuddle with Madeline. Good night!

Here is another one from last night. Madeline is enamored with Christmas lights. She is so expressive! Anyways...here ya go!

SORRY!

It has been too long since I have posted anything. Here is a new video of Madeline playing this morning. She has been waking up in fantastic moods and lately has just been so funny and happy. As usual, she is a joy to be around...

Happy Halloween!!!!!

Sparkling Wine Poached Pear, Candied Pecans and Spiced Pastry Cream Tart

This was a lovely tart. Perfect for the time of year and the flavors all worked so well together. I was very happy with the outcome!

As much as I would love to cling onto the summer's bounty, i am ready to accept that fall is here and it is now time to start baking with fall fruits and vegetables. I do love this time of year though especially because of the wild mushrooms. Within this next month we will hopefully be feasting on fresh chanterelles and boletes! I can taste the forest already!

Grilled Pizza!!

Look how good these look! I love to grill pizza. It's possibly one of my favorite dinners to make. We pretty take turns making dinner during the week but we try and keep it interesting. And no, we did not eat this all in one night. That's the thing about pizza dough, a little goes a long way! Such a cheap dinner to make! The top one is spicy Italian sausage, Gorgonzola, caramelized onions and arugula. The other one was fig jam, apples and Gorgonzola. They both were very good!

Here is also a picture of Madeline from tonight. She LOVES Patsy and Patsy is very slowly warming up to her. She was actually purring tonight when Madeline was swatting her. She will learn to love Madeline. Jerky will too. It really could be the most harmonious relationship if Jerky would just relax! She loves to feed him and he loves to eat so I know it's just a matter of time before he figures this out.Anyways, that's all I have for now. Mike is on his way out of town until Saturday night so we will be on our own for a few days. Don't know if I will get around to posting anything but I will certainly try!

Show me the money! pretty please.


My kids are trying for it again. I am happy too because I enjoy these trips as much as they do. Actually, I probably enjoy it way more. We are well on our way as far as fund raising goes but we really have a long ways to go. We need to raise at least $1100 per person and right now we only have $1800. Not bad for the first seven weeks of school but not great. I have a fabulous group of students in my advanced class this year. They all get along so well and they are a JOY to be around. They make me look forward to work which is a good thing, especially for me! Anyways, back to NYC...we have tried a few new things this year as far as raising money. We have sent out at least 20 letters to local businesses asking for help. We have not heard back from any one yet...not one. I guess the next step is to actually stop by or call them. A $20 check here and there could help out a lot! We are doing lunches, small catering jobs, you name it. We just need to find the one that is going to give us the mother load of cash. We have lots of great ideas, but none are giant money makers. We are so limited as far as food sales on campus go too because of CA's nutrition laws. Ah well, I am sure we will figure it out. BUT, if any of you have any genius ideas on really big fund raisers, PLEASE let me know! Thanks! Below is a picture from our walk tonight. It is so stinkin' cold! Brrr.....