It's Monday....Again.

It's Monday again and today I am grounded. Well, not in the I got in trouble and whoever is the boss of me, ground me, but instead I'm grounded because my Toyota is in the shop and I may or may not get it back today. Other than the obvious fact that having an auto repair bill sucks, it's good to be home to take care of the stuff that always seems to get pushed to the bottom of the list. Some of those things include dealing with the ordering of postcards for the trade show later this month, scan and email an offer for some clients who finally found a house they both love AND is in their price range, sort through paperwork for Mason - recipes, skills info, and the notes to create another "learning to cook" game idea he has. Oh, and I need to write my Monday Motivator and get last weeks posted (it's been written and sitting in my drafts in my email).

It's been a busy week, Mason had an audition in San Rafael so we planned to stay for dinner. We couldn't decide what we wanted to eat so I suggested we go to Sausalito and go have an dining experience on the water. We went to The Trident and shared a couple of appetizers (mom couldn't afford the full blown dinner experience this time) and enjoyed the view of the city across the bay. We had a lovely visit, some delicious food, and then we had a burger for our real dinner. :)

I'm enjoying this journey with Mason so much, in fact, it seems he's turned a corner and is being less obstinate and more agreeable to doing his chores and what Dave and I ask him to do. At one point I asked him to take the garbage out and he just got up and did it. My mouth fell wide open and I approached him slowly, I reached out to check his forehead for fever and when he felt normal I asked him who he was and what he did with Mason. He rolled his eyes at me and said, "Whatever" and took the garbage out. I breathed a sigh of relief when he rolled his eyes and could see all was well. Have a great week and stay tuned for what I hope is more exciting news.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

What a wild, crazy week it's been. So much has happened this week and if nothing else, it has sure made me reflect and realize how truly important it is to be grateful for each and every moment, not just one day a year. I know, we all know this and I bet we are pretty good at recognizing the little blessings in our lives, but I would also bet we could all pause more.

 

This week I was faced with the grim reality that a very long time friend, one of my best friends has decided that in an effort to simplify his life, he is cutting communication with not only me and my family, but (it appears) our entire circle of friends. I suppose if we were alcoholics or drug users and he wanted to disconnect so he could get clean, I could understand the reasoning - clearly, this is not the case. I don't really know what is going on or why, but I do know that when someone is unwilling to communicate it leaves those of us left behind only to speculate...and hurt. Interestingly enough, someone did this to him a number of years back and I can remember how devastated he was to not know why the friendship was being terminated...maybe he doesn't remember that. In any case, I know you will all assure me not all relationships last forever and even family (yes, I think of him as my family) leave sometimes, but this shakes me to my core and makes me wonder, who's next? I know that is no way to live, but that is how I feel right now...so very sad. Ultimately, I know this is not about me and if these actions in his life bring him happiness, then that is what I want, too...I'm crying for me.

 

On a much brighter note, Mason did his cooking demo at the Mandarin Festival this weekend and again, he rocked it! He and I did the hour long presentation making a beef mandarin slider and a mandarin no-bake cheesecake with an Oreo cookie crust. It amazes me how easily at nine years old he talks to and engages a crowd all while chopping, slicing, and dicing. If his interest in cooking and public speaking continues , I can only imagine what he will be doing at 12, 15, 18 and as an adult. There is a 4 minute video of the demo on Facebook if you are interested, or click here to see it on YouTube.

 

After the cooking demo, Dave, Mason and I all pulled together our recipes for the contest on Sunday and you guessed it, it was a Partak Family sweep! Mason won the Snow's Citrus Court award for best use of a Snow's product ($50.00 and a cookbook), and 2nd place ($50) overall in the main dish category for his beef mandarin slider. Dave took 2nd place ($50) in the side dish category with his bacon wrapped scallop, mandarin, and green onion, and I took 1st place ($100) with Mason in the main dish category with my nutty mandarin chicken salad lettuce wraps! Mason got some public kudos as he was the only kid in the competition (no kid category) and took two cash prizes. Certainly it's fun to win, but let me make this note; the time we spend together creating our recipes, developing them in the kitchen, tweaking and tasting together as a family is worth more than any cash prize - this time is priceless.

 

So now we head into the grand holiday of Thanksgiving with so much to be thankful for! We are off to Utah to be with my family and looking forward to seeing every one. My mom is not doing well so this will be an extra special visit. I hope you have plans to be with people you love, make sure to laugh a lot and try not to worry about the other "stuff," it really isn't what's important anyway. Love to you and yours!

"The Date"

Happy Halloween!

 

I love, love, love this time of year. Pumpkins that make me feel like they are the gateway to the holidays; Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then the New Year celebration. Our family has seen some big changes this year and it feels so good to be in a new home making new dreams come true.

Dave and I celebrated our 11th anniversary a little bit early this year enjoying a lovely New England Prix-Fixe dinner at a local restaurant. We talked about a dinner we had in 2001in Mariposa. We had just started dating and spent a fun day tootling the little shops, buying unique gifts (some snowflake Christmas ornaments that we still have), and just being in love with each other. We went to Charles Street Dinner House for dinner an we talked about the day we just spent together, making plans for the coming weeks and months, and it became very clear during dinner that we were planning our lives together, not just dating, but married life. I can't say for sure what we looked like to the other diners in the restaurant, but here's what makes this story so significant; everyone in the restaurant came and went while we sat engrossed in our new love and the restaurant literally closed around us. As we looked at our check and mentally came back to the real world, all the staff working that night were sitting together at a table looking our way. We immediately hurried and apologized for keeping them and we were told with smiles that they didn't want to disturb us and they all chose to stay and wait as seeing two people so in love was magical. We giggled about it as we left holding hands, but 11 years later, it's amazing that a handful of people didn't rush us out so they could go home and let us live in that magic for who knows how long. We decided last week that this would forever be referred to as "the date" because it really was a prelude to the happiness we still feel together. Our anniversary isn't until November 9, but the fact of the matter is, we celebrate our marriage and family most every day.

Mason went to a Halloween Sweet Treats cooking class this weekend and made caramel for apples, and popcorn balls, well, the recipe is popcorn balls, but Mason made popcorn animals! He is also working on his recipes for the Mandarin Festival. He has one and is still deciding on a second one. His criteria is that it has to be something a kids would like, have mandarins in it, and have several skills he can show. My criteria is that is has to be relatively simple because as the sous chef, I have to do ALL the prep work, keep him working smoothly, have samples prepared and ready, and clean up. Ultimately, I love that he is so interested in cooking and baking, it's fun for all of us. For those of you who want to come see him do his cooking demo on 11/17, let me know and I will give you tickets.

Do you have a story that is epic for you like "the date" is for us? I would love to hear it. What an amazing gift those people gave us that night...all these years later, it still brings us so much joy. Enjoy all the little ghouls and goblins on Wednesday and Happy Monday!

Busy Bees We Are!

Happy Monday!

Is there ever a week in the Partak household that is uneventful? Not usually! This week was no exception. Mason is winding down his first season of football and has it ever been fun. To be perfectly honest, I was not thrilled about daily practices and games every Saturday, but it might be safe to say I enjoyed watching him play football more than anybody. The first few games were comical, the kids were physically being picked up and put into position by coaches and referees, much like life-size chess pieces. Here we are just 8 weeks later and these young men are calling plays, motivating each other, and really playing football! The last game is this Saturday and it is also Mason's birthday. It will be a treat that the last game is a night game as all of the other games have been first thing in the morning. This works out famously for us to have Mason's birthday party Saturday morning. Yep, another jam packed weekend is coming up.

Last weekend, right after the football game, Mason and I drove to Lockeford to meet the newest Garcia, Jacob. Greg, Heather, and Josh welcomed Jacob in early September. He is a doll and our time with friends was wonderful. Dave was in San Diego Friday and Saturday and had training all day Sunday - his weekend pretty much sucked.

We're still getting settled in the new house but it's coming along...well, coming along. I like the smaller house but I don't like trying to make the puzzle pieces fit as to what will go where. Just when I think I have a system, a new something comes into play from a stack of boxes in the garage. UGH! It's maddening.Ultimately, I'm finding that I'm more inclined to just get rid of stuff than get creative to try to find a home for it.

Mason has been cooking up a storm. Yesterday he made Firehouse Chili from scratch - blanched the tomatoes, chopped the peppers, and braised the beef for slow cooking. It really turned out great, but who knew one little tiny jalapeno (no seeds) would create so much heat? Whooo-Wheee! We also created a video for an upcoming contest with Buitoni pasta, he's quite the little showman. For those of you who missed it, Mason has been invited to do another cooking demo, this time at the Mandarin Festival in November (17th). If you have any interest in coming to spend a fun, fall day in Auburn, I am happy to get you tickets. I'm not telling what he is making, but I can tell you he is developing the recipes himself. Enough of me bragging on my kid (though I am pretty proud), I hope you are having as lovely a fall as we are, a nice mix of warm and cool and our colors are just starting to show. Have a great week and I'll have plenty to share next week as we say farewell to football and my baby will officially be a 9 year old!