It's About To Get Crazy Up in Here!

Ready to fire up your crock pot/slow cooker?  
Starting next week the Glendale YMCA Performing Arts Academy opens!  
I am very excited for this new program.  
Mondays & Wednesdays kids will be dancing Latin Fusion with the awesome Ani Hovhannisyan from 4:30pm to 5:30pm and then learn to Jazz Funk from 5:30pm to 6:30pm.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays your children will learn and understand the art of Acting and Improvisation with the very cool Jonaton Wynne from 4:00pm to 5:00pm.
Also on Tuesdays and Wednesdays the world renowned Solid Gold dancer, Darcel Wynne-Leonard will be teaching Dance and Motion. 5:30pm to 6:30pm.
Fridays the talented Karl Melero will be guiding the children through Creative and Expressive Art from 4:30pm to 5:30pm.
We are so excited to be a part of this program!
So, because of our packed days, (not only the above mentioned activities but also gymnastics, AWANA, homework, schoolwork, auditions, callbacks, and filming) I will be dusting off my crock pot (I haven't used it for about 2 weeks to cook da beans) and experimenting with new and not so new vegetarian/vegan recipes.  Take advantage of  the fall fruits and vegetables from your local farmer's market and in your local supermarket chose your produce that are grown locally!
My teen (former home schooler) really likes school.  I think she enjoys competing with other students to get that A and she is such a social butterfly.   So far all A's in her class!
Her drama class are doing a fundraiser selling chocolates bars for $1.  I will have them with me starting this weekend.  The goal, to start off, will be 50 bars.  Maybe we will try for 100 if it goes well. So, if you would like to help out Celina and her fellow drama queens and kings buy one.  Sorry I can't ship out.  That defeats the purpose of raising funds for the drama class. 
Money goes towards field trips.  

a great summer

In the middle of cleaning my refrigerator I realized I haven't written.
So many changes here at home.
My middle child is now in public school.  She started the 8th grade is likes it.  The only complaint is how easy the classes are.
My youngest is still homeschooling and is happy with this new chapter of having mami all to herself.
It is a change of pace where it's only one child schooling.
I miss my mini-me like crazy but I am happy for her independence.
Her schedule is hectic with drama, theater, homework, volunteering, and dancing. I fear she will have to drop dancing but I am so glad she had the opportunity to train this summer with the fantabulous Darcel Wynn Leonard and with Eddie Padilla.
It has been an awesome.
Now back to homeschooling and hanging in the kitchen.
:-)

trying a new bean today

I stumbled upon a bean that is not my usual in, of all places, the 99 cents only store.
It is yellow in color and about the same size and shape as a pinto bean.
It is called mayocoba.
Have you ever cooked with it?
I am doing a quick soak and will let it cook for the day.
According to NutrionPedia this Peruvian bean but it doesn't give me anything more than that.
I think I will cook it the way I cook pinto beans with sofrito and adobo and lots of garlic.
Will post tonight or tomorrow...

My Search for the Craziest Nail Polish

The other day a friend of my daughter took a picture of her nails.  My daughter should it to me and told me it looked so cool.  I already had in my mind what kooky thing are they doing now.
I fell in love.
So yesterday morning after breakfast we headed out.  We had to go to the library anyway to drop off some books and movies.  We headed out to one place that sells makeup but didn't find what we wanted.  After stopping for yogurt and coffee when I decided to check out our local beauty store.
It looked harmless enough.  There are 7 colors but I opted to buy one now (black) and another later (silver).  It is a bit pricey so I didn't feel to bad buying it.  It is very stylish and I felt like such a young girl sporting my new nail polish .
It's called Shatter by Opi.  You start off by applying 2 coats of a base color so that it pops. When it dries you apply one coat of Shatter.  You have a 2 texture look.  It looks so cool!
My daughters are wearing black shatter with silver moon but I think I will do their nails again with a another color so that it can pop.

Yesterday I was hungry for some mac and cheese.  I have a hard time finding whole wheat macaroni pasta so I decided to have it with  rigatoni.  This is from the Skinny Bitch Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon refined coconut oil, melted, or safflower oil, plus more for the casserole dish
• About 2 tablespoons fine sea salt
• 1 pound whole-wheat or brown rice elbow macaroni
• 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen pureed winter squash (I could never find this so I just use the canned butternut squash found in the aisle next to the pumpkin pie mix)
• 2 cups soy or rice milk
• 4 ounces vegan Cheddar cheese, shredded (daiya is the best for this)
• 2 ounces vegan Jack cheese, shredded  (daiya is the best for this)
• 4 ounces (about 1/2 cup) vegan cream cheese (Follow your heart is the best vegan cream cheese out there)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons vegan Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Oil a 2-quart casserole dish; set aside
2. In a 4- to 6-quart stockpot over high heat, combine 3 quarts of water with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the salt. Bring the water to a boil, add the macaroni, and cook according to the package directions.
3. Meanwhile, in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine the squash and milk, stirring and breaking up the squash with a spoon until the squash is defrosted. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from the heat and whisk in the Cheddar, Jack, cream cheese, mustard, cayenne, and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of salt.
5. When the pasta is done, drain it, then return the pasta to the pot. Stir the cheese sauce into the macaroni. Transfer the entire mixture to the prepared baking pan.
6. In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and the 1 tablespoon of oil. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and cheese.
7. Place the casserole dish on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, then broil for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned

Burdensome Children

Summer means more library times for movies and all the other fun activities for children. Our local library has legos for the young ones, magicians and arts and crafts for the older kids.

What can ruin everything besides the city cutting library budget are moms who feel that the library is the drop-off station for the 3-9 year olds. I am only going to speak out for these young ones right now because they can't really speak for themselves. In the past two weeks I have seen things I shouldn't see and these kids should not experience.  I'm talking about the moms who want to leave their lil ones alone in the children's room or computer center so that they can "go downstairs and read" or gossip with their friends.
Several months ago I witnessed a little girl (maybe 7 years old) who was crying for her mommy because she was gone.  No where to be seen.  I let the girl use my phone so that she can call her mother.  Her mother came back in less than 2 minutes with the phone in her ear.  She looked upset and spewed some words I did not understand and grabbed her daughter by the arm and towards the stairs.
WTBH?!?!?!
Um,
Sorry for interrupting your phone conversation!
School is out and now you have no clue as what to do with your child?  So you want to dump them wherever you can so that you can have some peace and quiet reading or talking on your phone?
WOW
Maybe I just don't understand......
This summer we will be enjoying our pool, traveling in-state (staycation), enjoying our city and library activities and experimenting in the kitchen with the kids.