Bring It on!

Is how I feel about the New Year.

Lots of new challenges in store.

I want to do lots of things, hopefully I will.

I am wishing all of you out there a wonderful, healthy, safe New Year.

I look forward to 2010 and what it has to offer.

Zizette

My New Baby

Tada, isn't she beautiful?

I have longed for one of these for so long.

Never took the plunge but today my friends I did it!

I am so excited, I finally did it, I bought myself a sewing machine .

This is really a big thing for me. I always have tons of ideas running through my head.

Now I can actually do them. I have even gone so far as to buy the pieces for my projects but did not have the main tool to complete my project. Now I do.

I will be keeping you posted because I am so excited to start.

She even comes with an instructional DVD. Could this be my night time viewing this evening?

I'll check back with you later after I view my new DVD.

Nighty-Night

Zizette

One Resolution

I guess I may have more but today I decided on this one and it is probably the one I can most likely keep, to make 1 new recipe per week.

You see, I love to cook and even more I love to bake. Always have.

I can remember back when I was 16-17 that I worked in a camp and decided to cook Mexican food (since I had just moved from Southern California to NY permanently) after camp one day.

So, I do vow to make 1 new recipe each week. (Mind you for those of you who did not know, my husband is a Culinary School Graduate from mind you the BEST culinary school AND he does NOT regularly cook for us!) SHAME ON HIM>

SO, I will do this experiment.

Today, I cooked a mean Butternut Squash Soup ala Michael Chiarello.

Enjoy I know we will.

• Cook Time:

  25 min

• Level:

  Easy

• Yield:

  4 servings

Recipe Tools:

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Ingredients

For the soup:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup (1/4-inch) diced onion
• 1/4 cup (1/4-inch) diced celery
• 1/4 cup (1/4-inch) diced carrot
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Sea salt, preferably gray salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• About 4 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon ground toasted coriander, optional
• 1 1/2 cups Roasted Winter Squash recipe
• 1/2 cup half-and-half, optional

To serve:

• 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese, optional
• 2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds, optional

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and cinnamon stick and saute until soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the chicken stock and the coriander, if using, and bring to a boil. Simmer for several minutes. Stir in the squash until smooth, then simmer gently to let the flavors meld, about 10 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick.

Puree the soup in a blender until smooth. (The soup can be made ahead to this point, cooled, covered, and refrigerated for several days or frozen for about 1 month. It will thicken as it cools and may need thinning with stock or water when reheating.)

Return the soup to the pan and reheat gently. Add the half-and-half, if using. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Keep warm until service.

To serve:

Ladle the soup into serving bowls. Garnish evenly, with the cheese and pumpkin seeds, if desired.

NYC Christmas

Last week I decided to pull the kids out of school to go into NYC to see the BIG tree. When I told my good friend she called the school and took her kids out to join us (I let mine sleep in).

We had just had that huge snow storm over the weekend but the day was cold but not windy.

Look at this bunch of kids, don't they look happy?

Ahh to be a kid again and get out of school with your cool mom and best friends. Wait, I was the cool mom out with my cool kids and friends.

Hopefully this will be the start of a new tradition....

Zizette

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

To all my bloggy friends and their families

Merry Christmas

Zizette

Winter Wonderland

Now, I live in the Northeast.

I have lived in the Southwest, San Diego to be exact.

But, I love the Northeast, NY to be exact.

Besides Fall being my favorite season (and it still technically is Fall). I love the winter.

I love it for many reasons.

I LOVE EVERYTHING covered in a blanket of white. I just cannot get enough of it.

I hate when all the driving happens and the snows turns black but I love waking up and seeing everything white.

I love sitting by the fire (which I could not for the life of me start today) and drinking hot cocoa.

I love sledding with my kids.

I love attempting to build a snowman.

I love my snow angels.

I love how crisp it all looks and peaceful it feels.

So that's it, I love what the northeast has to offer me (don't get me wrong I love the warm weather too and would never turn down a vacation at the beach).

Stay warm and healthy.

Zizette

A Great Giveaway

Another Great giveaway to be found at 52 Flea, it's her 300th post and wants to celebrate. Go check it out and good luck!

Zizette

Friendship Bracelet Giveaway

There's an awesome Friendship Bracelet Giveaway from Klutz over at Skip to My Lou . Go ahead Check it out. They'll ship in time for Christmas.

Zizette

SCREAMING CHILDREN

I had two children today go for their annual check ups today.

Not FUN.

Last year and the year before that too, I vowed not to take them at the same time again. Well, I must have completely blocked that memory and that promised from myself.

You see, my kids hate their shots. Hey I don't blame them, I hate shots too. I have had my own time of crying and such in a corner of the room so no one will take my blood. I get it.

So, today we go for the visit. All the way there the kids are asking if they are going to get shots, can they put it off until January, everything you can think of.

Now this doctor has been with them since they were both born. She knows them, she knows me (even helped me through a hard time and that is why I stay with her even though we no longer live in NJ).

They have to get their shots (the flu and H1N1). Only one had a breathing issue this year so she needed to get the shots and could not get the mist. So one got two shots and one got a shot and a mist.

It breaks my heart and I talked them through it very calmly (which the nurse noted that I was "good"). My son was much more difficult. Telling me he was going to scream and proceeded to scream, in my ear.

It was over for both of them. They cried. They got cookies and water. Then they got McDonalds. They are sleeping now. I am a wreck.

My children are everything and to see them so distraught kills me. That was my day. SO when the annual exams come around again next year, someone please remind that I should not make them at the same time. Please, as my friends.

Makes Me Feel Good

I am loving baking.

I find that every time I bake, I feel good.

I feel good that my children love my cookies.

I feel good that I am providing a snack that is not filled with crap and preservatives.

I feel good that I ma getting them to try new things.

I feel good that I am trying new things.

The other day Maya had a friend over. Now she is the type of friend that does not have play dates at her friend's houses but only her own. She is the type of child with lots of anxiety. But slowly she is coming out of her shell. She wanted to come over, she wanted mom to leave but when mom went to leave she started to cry. Maya couldn't understand but I told her give her time. Her mom chatted with her and said if she was gonna cry they would go home. She wanted to stay and she did, without mom.

The girls played dress up, I polished their nails with pretty little heart designs and I baked cookies. They had an awesome time. She wanted to bring home a half eaten cookie to her daddy. I told her to finish the cookie and I would give her a new one for her dad.

Later on I asked my friend what her husband thought of my cookie, she said he loved it. Then she asked me, "what the heck are you doing at your house?" I asked her what she meant. She says her daughter comes home and tells her that I was baking I polished their nails with designs and helped them with dress up.

I love that. That makes me feel good. I want those memories for my children, me baking and taking care of them. (As I type this my son is complaining that I am on the computer - hey you can't have everything all the time).

Zizette

I am Finished

That's right I am finished with Graduate School! I am turning my logs and paperwork at 4 pm Eastern Time and then I do not have another piece of work to do. This has been a long and painless journey (until recently) for me.

I have to thank my family, friends and new people who I have come across in this journey - without all of them I would not have been able to do it.

I am still doing one more week of student teaching to make sure I have all my hours (and I don't want to leave my friends at my job/student teaching position).

I do not know what the future holds for me. I do know that many people think I am a fantastic educator and will be awesome where ever I do end up teaching. I look forward to that journey as well.

I have worked very hard these past 3 years to get where I am today. I don't "officially" graduate until February 1st and I hope that does not effect me in getting my position in my school (where I was a speech therapist).

Here's to a new year and new opportunities. Again, Thank you to everyone who has always been so supportive of me (especially my bestest friend in the whole world Jen),

Love ya-

Zizette

Passed Up Opportunities

I could kick myself. You see in the past month I have seen some pieces of furniture that I thought to myself, "hey I could do something with that." But I was either too embarrassed to jump out of the car and grab it of the end of a driveway or I thought I'll get it tomorrow. Well, you know what? They were gone! The piece on a neighbor's driveway I figured would be there at the end of the day (it wasn't The bulk pick up day) and a piece at my school was so bad looking I waited until the next morning. I asked for it and was told by the receptionist I could have but was called a few minutes later to be told it was already promised to someone else.

Why did I not take them when I saw them?

Was it because they looked so shabby I thought. "what would those people think of me?"

Who cares? If they are giving it away, why shouldn't I get it? Doesn't the saying go, "Someone's trash is someone else's treasure."

I guess from now I need to jump on it. The same way I did with the desk from Home Goods. I used to say, "Oh let me think about it and then boom it would be gone. No more, if I want it I will grab it. If it doesn't work or I change my mind I will return it.

So, ladies learn from my lesson, if you want it take it.

Have a great day!