Sunday, July 19, 2009

Pint Sized Visitor

We took Madi to see Allison today! The girls had fun! Check out Allison's blog!



Tuesday, July 14, 2009

10 Days Until 33

Shameless plug for my Amazon.com wishlist:

My Amazon.com Wish List

Dessert of the Week: Nothing


LOL! No I'm not quitting my dessert of the week endeavour. I baked more lemon bars on Sunday, because we have an abundance of fresh lemons on the tree.

In other wonderful bloom news, our tomato plant is sprouting! I've counted 3 Polish tomatoes so far. I called my Babcia and told her the exciting news. She was so proud. We also have cantaloupe starting to bloom.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Domestic Engineer Checking In


I feel like I must document everything I do. Yesterday I finished camping kits for St. Francis Center, where we volunteer. I also baked cookies. Today I cleaned the Kid's bathroom, and wiped down our's too. On top of that, I have a load of laundry going, and I still want to mop the bathroom floor. All this before I go to work at 5!

Okay, I'm getting off my high horse. I'm just mad that I once again failed to get hired for a job that I really wanted.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Dessert of the Week: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Lemon Bars were a hit! For the 4th I baked my version of Red, White and Blue cupcakes. Vanilla cake with fresh blueberries, cream cheese frosting with fresh strawberries and blueberries on top. Here's a picture...


Today's dessert of the week is Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. My variation of a classic. I feel that raisins should be a stand alone snack, not one incorporated into baked dishes.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 cups oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
8 oz. chocolate chips (I like the mini ones)
Splash of milk

Preparation
Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add a splash of milk andmix. Add oats and chocolate chips; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time Time: 10 min


Sk8r Guurl

Ryan Sheckler has nothing on my kid. 19 months, and she's already learning to ride the board. Not only does she have the age thing on her side, she's a girl! Watch out boys, here comes a whole new breed of sk8rs!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Dessert of the Week: Lemon Bars

My dear Mister feels duped. He thought that when we decided that I would be a professional Mom, that I would turn into Susie Homemaker. But in reality, I knew that would never happen. My dinners are rarely edible, though I do vacuum every other day. I hate laundry, ironing and scrubing toilets. I don't get paid enough to do those things regularly anyway.

Last week the Mister came to me and said, "So and so's stay at home wife cooks him a gourmet breakfast every morning, and prepares him special lunches, and he has 5 star dinners on the table when he comes home. She even bakes for the office. All this and they have a 6 week old kid." My thought is either the guy is on crack or his wife is trying to compensate for something. I told the Mister that it ain't gonna happen in this house, so stop dreaming.

I felt bad about the whole thing, so every week I'm going to bake a dessert, as my effort to be Susie Homemaker. Last week I made Vanilla Cupcakes. Everyone loved them. The Mister did not. Today, I have Lemon Bars in the oven. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
Pinch salt
2 sticks butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing

Filling:
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 2 1/2 small lemons)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch pan.

Make the crust by combining the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter to make a crumbly mixture. Press the mixture into the prepared pan. You may need to dip your fingers into a little flour or confectioners' sugar to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers. Bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, mix the eggs, granulated sugar, flour, and lemon juice. Pour this over the baked crust and bake for 25 minutes longer. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, if desired, when the bars are done.

The Mister



My Mister is such a stud. Sometimes I don't show it, but I love him so, so much.

Monday, June 15, 2009

It's not fair!

My friend Nicole's daughter, Allison, was diagnosed with Leukemia on Friday, June 12, 2009. I am absolutely devastated! My heart aches for the family. Check out the blog I started for them http://teamallisonz.blogspot.com.





Thursday, June 11, 2009

Monday, May 11, 2009

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Madison the Supermodel!

We had an amazing photographer come over to our house on Sunday to take pictures of Madison. Madison was having a not so good day, but Jaime did a terrific job catching Madi's good side! Thanks JLV Photography!!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Happy Birthday Mom!

Sonna and Mom



Madison eating a lemon.


Mom, Madison and Me


We celebrated my Mom's birthday at the Blue Water Grill in Redondo Beach. It was a fun time!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Thursday, March 19, 2009

My Favorite Photo of My Favorite People



What more can I say. I love my husband. I love my daughter.

Monterey Bay Aquarium







We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium March 13, 2009. We had a great time!

Los Angeles Zoo Favorites






We go to the LA Zoo almost weekly. My favorite animal at the zoo is the giraffe. Here a couple of pictures from a recent trip in January.