If you are looking for THE BEST Halloween treat, I suggest mixing equal parts of candy corn, lightly salted peanuts and raisins.  

It's like, an explosion of unworldly deliciousness inside your mouth.  

MMmmmm... it's just so good.

I wish that I could pull it together to blog more lately.  I've just been really scattered and am having trouble bringing it back to center.

I've been having a lot of fun and I've been very active lately, but there have been too many schedule crazy days and not enough couch potato days for my tastes.  It's been company and friends and back to back parties.  I just haven't spent enough time in the kitchen, making fall stew and fresh bread.  In part, I think it's because the weather hasn't changed yet here.  Today it will be 102 degrees.  I long for those cool fall days...  I mean, I love California, but I do miss the way the trees change color and how nice it is to wear sweaters and jeans.  

I guess that it's probably good that I feel this way because it looks like we're moving to Dublin, Ireland after the school year ends.  I don't think that I've mentioned that in this blog before.  The possibility rose last April and for awhile it was only a possibility... just some talking.  But recently it's become something that is going to happen. It will only be for a year or two and when we come back to California, we hope to settle down, by a home, and stop moving.  I'm very excited to have the opportunity to live in Ireland for a bit and the kids are as well.  Jay, of course, is too.  The catch is that we are not going to bring our pets.  We are hoping to find people to watch them for the time when we are gone, and pay for them to be boarded there.  As we've been talking about going, the one thing that has made me feel a lot of anxiety have been the pets.  First, Sherbert can not fly, but my friend Siet has so sweetly agreed to let him live on her farm.  As for the others, the flight to Ireland is 13 hours and 50 minutes from San Francisco.  Both of my dogs are too big to ride up top and would have to be in the cargo hold. Once you add up the time that they'd get to the airport, be in flight and get through customs, they could be in their carriers for 20 hours.  This is too much.  and to have to do it 2 times in a couple of years... I think that everyone would be happier and safer staying in the states.  I love my pets and I don't feel comfortable risking their lives.  Sidney has seizures when she is very stressed and the thought of putting her through that makes me feel sick.  I know that leaving them behind is the right decision.  Though it breaks my heart to think of being separated from Sidney and I expect to have some very tearful days and nights because of it, I know that keeping her here is what is best and healthiest for her.  So, that's what I'm going to do.  

This week marks the beginning of pie season in our house.  Pie night will happen once a week (Friday night) until  Thanksgiving.  This week our friends Donna and Max are coming over to kick it off!  It's going to be a pie inspired evening and we're going to make savory pies and sweet pies... plus tons of sides!  I am really looking forward to it.  Pie night has been a really important tradition in our family, as important as Christmas and birthdays, as far as the kids are concerned.  It means a full day in the kitchen... tons of cooking and friends and celebrating.  It's the kickoff to our holiday season, I guess.  We usually pair it with the beginning of the show It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, though this year we are starting a week before it premiers.  

Things are still going really well in the gym.  I feel like I should be grateful to some sort of higher power for giving me the gift of learning to love working out.  I have never liked to spend my time in a gym before, but now it's as comfortable for me as getting a good night of sleep is.  When I don't go, my body feels kind of off and really gross.  When I do go, I relax, sleep better, feel good and am happier.  It's the best feeling.  At 36 years old, I am healthier than I have ever been.  

On that note, I am pretty excited to say that I am thinking about going back to school.  I found an 18 month program for nutrition and am considering becoming a nutrition consultant.  I have always been somewhat obsessed with food.  It's so fascinating to me.  The more I learn about nutrition, the more I want to learn.  I can't get enough. I'm most interested in eating to treat/prevent illness and "food is medicine" is like doctrine to me. I'd really love to work in a holistic doctors office or with a midwife in order to help others eat for their bodies and optimal health.  I believe that I have found my calling.  It sure did take me awhile, but better late than never, I suppose!  

Good Morning!

I was sure that I was going to be so sick today!

When I went to bed last night I felt incredibly run down with a sore throat and drippy nose. And so this morning I am shocked by the healing power of 8 hours of sleep and a few glasses of juice! I feel great!

I had a nice, but long weekend. After getting out of work on Friday I had so much to do. When I ran to the school to pick up the girls J was waiting for me. I took her to her house to pick up a warmer coat and then she ran errands with the girls and I. We went to the Wine and Spirits store, tomy shop to pick up my grocery cart, to Whole Foods, to the frozen yogurt place (a promise that I couldn't break even though it's been freezing outside) and finally, to pick all of the Holler pets up from the vet.

As it turns out, Sherbert was a big jerk to the veterinary staff and they weren't able to clip his nails or clean his ears. Actually, they all seemed completely petrified of him. Poor guy. He still has so much feral cat in him. I feel like he was taken out of that environment when he was young enough to have overcome his jagged, rough roots... but no. He's still so much of a wild cat who hates people. The fact that he doesn't really hurt us is a huge testament to how much he actually loves us back. I mean, he's almost three years old and is only now beginning to trust me enough to sit near me and let me pet him for a few seconds. Also, until recently I didn't think that he was physically able to purr. Sherbert is a sad story.

But I digress! After getting our pets, J, the girls and I headed home to order a bunch of greasy take out, watch movies and drink wine. On Saturday I didn't feel so well. Jay went into work and the girls and I did our grocery shopping. I came home, put on jammies, baked cookies and had a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Yesterday I worked. I worked for 10 hours. And when I came home Jay had cooked an actual dinner that was delicious. He had finished the shopping. Our children were bathed. Our house was clean. And he even did some prep work for Monday.

Jay dreams of being a stay at home dad.

Are the Rosemary Pea plant and the rosemary herb the same thing? One of them is poisonous to cats.

Oh, and our last extermination was very thorough. A few days later and the floors are still a bit tacky. He says that we will not need another one. I sort of got the feeling that he couldn't ethically give us another one because the chemicals are so dangerous. No bed bug will be left standing (as if any would dare)!

ps. On a separate but similar note, I think that the mice have evacuated. One death was enough. Sherbert sent his message. We haven't caught one, seen evidence of one, found another one dead or heard any under the floorboards.

Monday- crazy idea

The Crisis:

I don't know what to do with the rest of my life and with the departure of my children, Monday-Friday from 8 to 3, I'm deliriously bored. By 9:30 this morning my house was as clean as it could be (with respect to the moving chaos), my children's pj's were out for tonight and their outfits for tomorrow were chosen and set aside. Lunches and snacks for the following day were prepped by noon and I found myself counting the minutes until I could pick them up from school.

In this time of tedious minute counting I find myself thinking about what I can do with my life. I have thought about lots of different things and it seems like I've got some solid ideas. That said, I've been really wishy washy. I try on an idea and I try to imagine myself really engaged in it.

Here's a new one:

I've always wanted to open a bakery. The best job that I ever had was in a bakery and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to bake. Unfortunately, I don't know anything ANYTHING about business. And I'm pretty sure that if I did know something about business, I'd be pretty awful at it. Oh, and the other problem is that I don't have any money. But lets say that I could get the money... I still would run a business directly into the ground by giving everything away.

I've been entertaining the concept of a bakery/cafe called "granola" that caters to different types of granola and serves different kinds of granola dishes... just like an ice cream parlor does. Not just granola, but different types of milks/yogurts and fruits to pair with granolas. I could even make homemade yogurt. It's pretty straightforward and could have a pretty straightforward menu. Granola is something that's always pretty popular. It's healthy. I love to bake it. It's easy to make creative granolas and I have lots of recipe ideas.

Just a thought.