Nigella Lawson is sheer genious

Nigella Lawson is on the money a lot of the time; in my opinion at least. That especially held true with tonights dessert, a gooey chocolate pudding. The simple name kind of masks what a decadent dish this is, and it is quite simple to make really. It may have been once of the richest, and most delicious, chocolate desserts I've had, and let me tell you there have been a lot : )

3 eggs, 3/4 c. sugar, and 1/4 c. flour wisked in a bowl, add 1 stick of butter and 4.5 oz dark chocolate that have been melted in the microwave together and blend. Pour into 4 buttered and floured ramekins and bake for 10-12 minutes in a 400 degree oven and voila, it's BRILLIANT! To counter the richness I also whipped a bit of cream and offered it on the side which was a nice touch.

Frankie got a chocolate snack pack which he thought was fabulous too ; )

Jillian's ELEVEN!!

Where does the time go? I can't believe my little Jill Jill is already 11 years old! I am extremely proud of her; she is smart, sweet, considerate, loving, funny.... I am very happy and humbled by the good decisions she makes with regards to how she prioritizes her roles and responsibilities and can only hope that she continues to do so in the years to come.

To celebrate she had a couple of friends come over to spend the night and boy did the five of them have a giggle fest. I've never heard such a thing; I had to record it from the other room so I wouldn't forget : ) For the festivities I made a chocolate type cake with sugary frosting, Yum! We also had french toast with homemade strawberry syrup for breakfast and then we shopped til we dropped (almost literally!)

Oh, and by the way, peas pureed with roasted garlic, mint and butter are Delicious!! Even Frank agrees.

Julie & Julia

I finally watched Julie & Julia and loved every second of it!! I really like food and cooking so I knew I would like it once I took the time to watch. Little did I know that the main character chronicles her journey on a BLOG, too cool! Anywho, Frank and I went straightaway this morning to pick up a copy of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and the book Julie and Julia which the movie was based on and I intend on reading the latter this week. I also think I will do a little bit of experimenting in the kitchen. Nothing too crazy, over 500 recipes in 365 days is a stretch even for me, but I am pretty excited to try something a bit more extravagant in the kitchen now that I have more free time. I started tonight with hollandaise sauce, because it's one of my favorites, and it was Delish!! and much easier than I was expecting : ) I also used my leftover egg whites to make meringues with brown sugar, too yummy!!

Baby Radishes and some other stuff too

We harvested our first crop of radishes and boy were they tiny, but also delicious! They weren't pithy at all and they had a nice subtle zip to them. I've already re-planted our radish square and I planted less seeds with the thought that maybe there were too many plants this last time for them to get very big. I'm also planning on watering them twice a day instead of just once because it is getting hotter out and I think that might also help them to get bigger.

We've also got the beginnings of a bean crop
a TON of mint and catnip

a few yellow bell pepper buds

our thyme is blooming (as are our snapdragons)

and our most successful crop thus far is still strawberries

Best way to cure the blues

Kids in formalwear, of course! Put flowers, crystal, silver, fun dishes, chocolate covered strawberry shortcake, and dancing together and you've got yourself a pahahartay! Not to mention a great excuse for me to pull out my fascinator ; )

Here's my funny (I hope) as promised

Top ten reasons you know it's time to quit your job:

You get excited when it's Saturday because you can wear sweats to work.

You think a short day is when you leave at 4 o'clock.

The only way you have time to shop is if it's on Amazon.

You learn about your layoff on CNN.

You find you really need power point to explain what you do for a living.

You sit in a cubicle smaller than your bedroom closet.

Change IS the norm.

You mainly eat out of vending machines.

You're expected to get excited about a 4% pay raise.

The only fun you have anymore is composing your fantasy resignation speech.

This is the beginning...

The thing about the beginning is, that it's also always the end. That end came for me today after several years working for American Express. As I was walking out I couldn't help but feel like I was going through a "It's not you, it's me" kind of break up. I know I chose it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't hard for me to say goodbye (or well actually just sneak out without saying goodbye because that would have pushed me over they edge). It's funny how I've looked forward to this day for as long as I've known it was coming, but I was never really prepared for how I would feel about it once it came. I was good at my job, it came so naturally to me that it wasn't hard, it wasn't even like work really, so in a way it seems like a lost opportunity. But, if you don't push yourself you loose interest. We have to stretch ourselves and take on new challenges in order to grow. That challenge for me is going to be staying at home with my kids. I know, calling it a "challenge" seems like quite a stretch, but for me it is. It is completely unknown territory for me and in some ways has been fodder for jokes of mine for years. So my challenge will be making sure that I don't fall into any of the cliches that I've always associated with being a S.A.H.M. and do the very best job I can of teaching my children values that are important to me and spending as much "quality time" with them as I can. The possibilites are vast and I intend to capitalize on this time that I am so blessed to have.

Anyway, tomorrow I'll post something funny to balance all this emotional hudu out.

XOXO -Amber