Cheers!

I love a new year.  It is all bright and shiny still, nothing horrible has happened yet, it has no baggage.  I love the idea of getting a fresh start.  2011 wasn't particularly bad to me, but still, I am looking very forward to greeting the new times that lay ahead. There is something about taking down the old, marked up calender, and replacing it with a clean new one. It feels fresh and open, like anything can happen.
 Resolutions are fun, even if they only last a few days. Hopefully mine will stick around a little longer, I have resolved to take myself less seriously, and remember to enjoy the journey. I need to be better about learning to say no sometimes, and also allowing myself to say yes to the things that matter most to me. I want to be healthy and happy and be my very best self. I have nothing with a particular goal or number, so I am guessing that my odds are already higher than most.
 A good friend proclaimed to me that this was the year she was going to reclaim herself. What a fantastic idea. I think I shall try my best to do the same.  I'm not sure exactly what that entails at the moment, but I like the idea of it very much, and am anxious to see if the person I think I am, even faintly resembles the real me at all.  A year of giving, a year of thanks, a year of learning and growing, a year of joy! Here's to two thousand and twelve, may it be full of magic, and may every day be even a tiny bit more wonderful than the one before it.

and in this scenario, where magic = mini chocolate chips, I give you what makes today even better than yesterday:

Cake for one
get a custard cup or mug
put in
2 Tbsp flour
3/4-1 Tbsp sugar (to taste)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla (I like the vanilla powder, apparently the extract is flammable, which I think sounds pretty fancy, but keep an eye on it when you cook it. FLAMBE!)
3/4 Tbsp oil (coconut is awesome, butter, whatever you like)
2 Tbsp milk
optional stir ins: nuts/mini chips/sprinkles/1 tbsp cocoa powder
stir it up real good
nuke it for a minute. frost it if you want. Eat it all. Don't share.

This is really amazing, especially with mini chocolate chips. It is around 150 calories with no stir ins (same as a twinkie!)  and is literally ready in less than 3 minutes.  Late night snacking has just been resolutionized. TAADAA! Welcome to the new year.

inner space

Maggie: What is the name of that inappropriate planet again?

Layla: Uranus.

Maggie: oh yeah. haha.

And then they just kept right on playing with teeny tiny plastic frogs. Kids are cool.

thankful for

my life, my love, my health and my sense of humor. I feel mixed about the way time has taken to flying recently, it makes things all frantic and jumbled, but it is making Christmas come much faster, so I am excited about that.
Merry Christmas, hope you enjoy the magic of the holiday season.

what's not to love?

Today I am thankful for warm breakfast. I have never been a big cold cereal fan (except sometimes count chocula as a midnight snack), I take my breakfast warm. Savory breakfasts are my favorite, but I also really love muffins (as if you didn't know). I made these this morning expecting a friend to join me. I ended up breakfasting alone, but since the muffins are so amazing, I didn't even mind. My family will also be thankful when they get home, these are more like a cake dessert, but we can just call them muffins so they don't carry the guilt of breakfast cake.

Coconut Almond Muffins
1 Cup flour
1/2 cup sugar (you can use a little less, these are pretty sweet for me)
1-1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 C melted butter (I use coconut oil)
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 Cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup chocolate chips (i love the minis)
1/4 Cup sliced almonds

*in a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl whisk the egg, sour cream, butter and extract. Stir into dry ingredients just until moist. (dough will be very thick) Fold in coconut and chocolate chips.
*using a 1/4 cup, fill muffin cups. Sprinkle with almonds and a little extra sugar if you'd like.  Bake at 375* for 18-20 minutes or until tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
Makes about 9 muffins.
These could win a ribbon at the fair, but since I'm not into that, they will just win a place in my heart. These muffins will impress people, make them.
You're welcome.

there's always December!

 It is popular in November to be thankful each day for something that makes your life awesome. It is also popular to share these wonderful things via some form of electronic media. Please hear me when I say that I am, indeed, thankful, and I am also pleased that you are. It does get a little cloying though by the end of the month. Like apple juice. F'ing apple juice.  It is so sweet, I want to love it, but I just can't in my deep down heart. (it doesn't even really taste like apples does it?)
Anyway, because I am a big fan of being ironic, and also because I am actually very blessed, I decided to hitch my ass to the wagon. (You KNOW I don't jump. 40 pounds of boobs are not conducive to flying into the air of my own accord)
I saw a post about being grateful in December (every day, which of course is very different than being thankful every damn day in November. Come on people.) The point (in case you are thick) is to focus on the good, and not the stress and ridiculousness of the commercialization of the holidays. (ok, maybe that is just what I think it means, feel free to think for yourself here. Please. Really)
So, in the spirit of gratefulness, I am going to share some things that I am thankful for. (Probably not daily, because let's just be honest here, commitment to any daily task isn't really my gig. If this was a project that involved large amounts of butter or napping it would have a fighting chance.)

The first thing I am thankful for is kind of amazing, but I promise you it is true. (I only tell the truth, it's just my way) So, if you know me, you know that the Janina fan club includes 1 member of Alan's family. It is Alan. I somehow brainwashed him in the early 90s without the use of any (good) forms of sex, drugs or rock and roll (still all true) and yet, 20 years later, he is still here. Amazing, I know. For some reason (or most likely loads of them) the rest of his family hasn't fallen for me yet. This has been a huge stumbling block for me for most of my life. I just can't quite accept that the family of man that I love more than my life, just can't like me. Ouch.
And then I got a facebook friend request. It was from Alan's Uncle Earl. Why me? Really? Fine, whatever. Friends indeed. Except, (and here's the lesson kids) he isn't anything like I expected him to be. Shame on me! Uncle Earl is a gay democrat, and from what I gather, he is also a retired ice dancer!!! Shut the front door! (I KNOW!  a DEMOCRAT in Alan's family! wow. Mind=blown)
Anyway, the thing I am grateful for today is discovering a kinship with a member of my family in-law. Better late than never I say. Now that Uncle Earl and I are going to be buds, I am kind of figuring out why they have kept us a secret from each other all of these years. It has a little to do with possible world domination, but you didn't hear it from me...

bald is beautiful

no, this post isn't about my (extremely) handsome husband, it is about my kids.  They are not bald, but their behavior makes me feel like pulling my own hair out, so soon, I may be.
Parenting is one of those things you can't explain. I can't adequately express to you the feeling of frustration that it gives me when I witness one (amazing, talented) little girl, harass and annoy another (equally as wonderful) little girl. It is especially maddening since I happen to have made them both myself. 
Since I am the adult in this particular scenario, I am also under the obligation of responding with some type of appropriate behavior. I would like to be candid and tell you, that does not usually happen.
When I think back to my childhood, I don't remember much (which I am also banking on to happen with my kids, they can just remember Christmas and Disneyland and everything else can kind of melt away into the abyss) I mostly remember big things like helicopter rides, Marine World, and the chocolate factory (NOT Willy Wonka's). But I also remember my mom being this kind of ethereal adult, that kind of floated along taking care of things, totally in control of herself and the situation.
I know this isn't actually true, because she told me as much, but that is how I remember it. (and it's still how she acts now, all clever and unaffected and champion like. It is possible that it is actually true, and she is just trying to make me feel better. That would totally be a "Mom" way to behave.)
Long story short, it was kind of a rough morning. The girls started in on each other first thing. I got involved. There was drama. (with 2 little girls, there is ALWAYS drama) I could have raised my voice (ok, yeah, that happened) and then we hustled out the door for school.  I hate starting a day this way, so I snuck cute little birdie love notes and stickers into their lunches, and when we were in the car, I apologized to them.  Layla was all strong and silent, and Maggie was smiling and quick to forgive. "It's ok Mama, I love you!"
Here I am still stewing about it, an hour later. Layla probably is too. I think it is important to take a lesson from a 6 year old and learn how to quickly forgive, and also let people know how much we love them.  Silly little disagreements shouldn't shape our days, because pretty soon days become years, and all of the years together, that is our life.
I know that some day the girls will be adults themselves, and be looking to me for answers about things like this. I will tell them that they are amazing, and how much I love them, and have them call my mom.

yay me!

Not long ago I went to a little hippie workshop, and got a lot of guilt for things I should/could be doing better around the house. Prepared food, plastic products, etc. Yeah, yeah, I freaking already know, leave me alone ok?! Well, she also told me that by choosing my $4 mocha at Starbucks, I was not only pretty much funding the Saudi oil czars, but also slash burning like 400 million square football fields of rain forest with each sip. Ouch. You know how I love me some rain forest.
I immediately came home and finished up all of my Starbucks via packets (oh, how I love thee) in the interests of the tarsier. I went and got a bag of organic french roast coffee beans out of my pantry and made the change to french pressed straight away.  This was the big change that I made after the workshop. Yay me.  I also switched to organic half and half instead of my very favorite almond joy coffee mate (that makes me happy on the inside and the outside). I am not going to lie, I wasn't happy about the creamer. Yes, I know it's made of crap and chemicals and I can't pronounce half of the ingredients. I KNOW! But it's yummy and coconutty and I love it.
After a few days of good (not great) coffee, I decided that I was going to have to make my own coffee creamer. Bold, I know. I googled a bit, and thought about it, and got to work. I would now like to share with you my amazing recipe.
Janina's organic kick ass coffee mate
(makes you happy on the inside AND the outside, and also saves your body and helps save the rain forest for the tarsiers and bonobos)
1 can organic coconut milk
1 can organic sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup organic (Equal Exchange) drinking chocolate
1 tsp. pure almond extract
put the milks in pan, warm it up, add the chocolate, stir it up real good. When it steams, take it off the heat and stir in the almond extract.  Put it in a glass jar and keep it in the fridge.  I imagine it will be kind of like pudding when it gets all the way cooled, so be sure to have an opening where you can get at it with a spoon.
Enjoy!

Also, just so we are clear, I am never (NEVER) giving up paper towels, I love them, and they are handy. Or toilet paper. Or shampoo. (the list goes on) I do promise to do my best, and be a good steward of the earth while I am a guest here, and to only go to Starbucks when it's an emergency.
Also, I wouldn't mind a homeless, orphan, tiny, baby bonobo for Christmas. (Just in case Santa reads this)