So Much BIG News!

Dave and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary last November 9th and Dave bought me Bon Jovi tickets. Not only did he purchase the tickets, he made plans for us to stay in Sacramento for the night. I was such a fun day and night. Some days I have to pinch myself to know my life is real. I am married to a guy who finds so much joy in surprising and spoiling me. I just don't have the words to express how grateful I am and how lucky I feel. I ❤ you David Partak, thank you for loving me like only you can. But wait! There’s more.

Dave didn't want our time "away" to end so he made reservations for Date Night at Bootleggers, one of our favorite local restaurants. Every Wednesday is “Date Night,” it’s $29 for two people, three courses. Ty Rowe dinner was off the hook! The tri-tip with chimichurri was mouthwatering and the chicken Marsala left me wanting to lick my plate - I didn't but that was only because Dave moved it out of my reach before I could. My only complaint is that when I ordered more Marsala sauce, there wasn't any!! 

After Dave and I had such a great date night with Bon Jovi, we've decided to go on an overnight once a month. Sacramento, Apple Hill, Nevada City, Alameda, San Francisco... just something different, and away from the distractions at home. Don't get me wrong, it's really good at home, but plugging in to us is important and it's more fun on an adventure. So now we get to have fun deciding where we should go. There is a treehouse place in Northern CA, and the Safari spot in the Sonoma area... it will be fun, to plan and go! Remember, the best gift you can give your kids is happily married parents. And we stay happily married when we spend a little time without our kids. ❌❤⭕❤❌❤⭕❤

I get pretty consistent requests for Mason to donate a cooking class from different organizations and service clubs. I've always said no because I didn't know if he could actually do it. Since he turned 13, I finally agreed and on Saturday he taught his first cooking class to nine kids.

He taught basics, knife skills, misen place, clean-as-you-go, baked chicken ziti, salad, strawberry roses, a mocktail, and ice cream in a bag. He had a special needs child who he handled like a pro, and got all the kids to eat things their parents assured us they would not eat. It was unbelievable what that kid did. I was pretty blown away.

I was also tired. The class had me donating $40, 23 hours of my time and over 100 miles traveled. I'm not complaining, just evaluating how this all pans out for the future.

So now the big news, Mason just got cast in his first film role! Sally at Forcier Casting, has given Mason an incredible opportunity considering he really has no real film experience. I would say this is what we call in the business, “a big break!” Her coaching and guidance have been invaluable to Mason and I'm certain she and her team are contributing to his success in a big way. John Howard Swain and Marsha Mercant, I’m not leaving you guys out! You two are the voices in my head that Mason gets to hear once in a while, too. Okay, all the time, but he may only listen once in a while. This is very exciting on so many levels, I can’t wait to write this journey as it unfolds. 

With all of this cool news, go out and get one step closer to making your dreams come true. Seriously, it feels amazing when things come to fruition. 

Welcome Week #52!

It’s the last week in 2016 and can you believe how fast it went? I know, it’s totally cliche’ to write about how time flies, but it does! I don’t remember that being the case when I was a kid, but Mason said to me half way through this year, “Man mom, time is going so fast!” He was 12, but I suppose when you live a life like his as a kid, it would feel more grown up. Today Mason did his last television appearance of the year in Sacramento. He talked about how to make New Years Eve festive and fun for kids…he would know. 

It’s funny how much things can come around in just a few days. Last week I was really struggling with the whole gift situation that comes this time of year. Mason has been a normal 13 year old and all about what am I getting? It’s been driving me nuts because I want him to be more aware of the spirit of giving and how the magic of Christmas and Santa is really about giving and making other people’s dreams come true. The bottom line is, he’s a kid and as amazing and mature as he is in other realms of life, he’s still a little boy who is loving video games and gaming systems, and he wants more air soft stuff than he can likely use, he wants to go to the movies and he wants to eat crap food, and as his mom I need to just let some of this stuff be. It will pass and I really do not need to worry that he will grow up to be an entitled, selfish human, I don't think that's the case.

While I reflect on our year, how can I feel anything but gratitude? Mason worked a lot this year and by the looks of this last television appearance, it’s showing. After his segment while we were cleaning up, the anchor called to us to say, “In my ear, producer just said, “THAT WAS AWESOME!” that never happens! Good job Mason, you know how to do this and your set looked great!” That’s high praise and even Dave said to me, “Good job Kath, tell John Howard Swain he taught you well…so well, you’ve been able to teach Mason.” 

We were in Chicago in January shooting a pilot for a kid cooking show, Mason did his usual live cooking demos for the Home Shows, fairs, and festivals through the spring, summer and fall. I went to Las Vegas for the licensing show where it looks like I may have landed a gig for my RiverLights Originals art work in 2018, and we came home to get Dave his most favorite of all birthday presents, his Bernese Mountain dog puppy, Gunner. Mason and Dave then went back to Chicago where Mason filmed a spot with Steve Harvey while I was on a girls trip to NYC with Lisa Anderson. No sooner did we all touch down the same day in Sacramento, just two days later, Mason and I were back down in LA to shoot another spot for the pilot show we shot in January. That one will be interesting when it airs in 2017. From there we were back on a plane to Sheboygan, WI where Mason did a job for Johnsonville Sausage. That was a great trip! Not only did we have plenty of down time, we got to meet the good people at Johnsonville, and it looks like there might be more collaborations in the future. That project will likely be revealed next month, so stay tuned! 

Bring all of this full circle with Saturday Thanksgiving surrounded by our friends in the (not so) new house, I turned 50 (how the heck did that happen?!), and we shared another epic Christmas. There just isn’t room for anything in my heart except love and gratitude for this amazing life with my little family. 

Thank you for being on this journey with us, it wouldn’t be the same without you. Happy New Year, may you find this same kind of awesomeness in 2017!

2016 Mandarin Festival is a Wrap!

Another Mandarin festival is in the books! Thank you Gary Gilligan for all the hard work you put into this event and for including me as part of your team. I am honored to run the cooking stage and work with amazing home cooks and professional chefs side-by-side teaching people, having fun, entertaining, and most of all making good food. So many people make this happen, there's no way to thank you all. But just let me say, I'm just so honored to be a part of this event and the group of people who make it happen. It’s interesting to me as I travel the country with Mason as a kid cook, how many people don’t know about live cooking demos. Oh sure, they know Food Network and the celebrity aspect of a culinary show, but it seems that live cooking demos at fairs and festivals is not the norm. I think we are so lucky to be able to do what we do on cooking stages and the more I travel, the more I realize we really do create unique and special culinary experiences for foodies, both novice and professional, and the audiences who sit and watch us.

One more thought on this years festival, I want to congratulate Rachel Griffith for sweeping the recipe contest today at the Mountain Mandarin Festival. For those of you who know, the Griffiths and the Partaks have an ongoing rivalry to see who can win more with the recipes. It's been fun through the years and I could justify that Dave and Mason did not win anything today because I work the cooking stage and Mason mans a booth. However, if I were to do that it would be a complete copout. Rachel also mans a booth at the festival and I'm here to say that it is a challenge beyond belief to prepare a recipe, or two, or three to have at the festival before it opens when they're not due until noon. Rachel did that today and swept the contest winning three awards. Yes, three awards! I believe she won a first, a second, and the Snow's Citrus Court award. Rachel, correct me if I'm wrong. I just want to tell you that I'm so proud of you, you worked really hard, you earned it today and I'm so happy to call you friend. You go girl! Check her out at Polkadot Dinners.

Mason Appeared on The Steve Harvey Show

It's been an exciting week, not only did Dave and I celebrate 15 years happily married, but Mason made his first national network television debut on the Steve Harvey Show. He did a great job and when I posted the link on his social media sites, so many of our friends and his fans commented about what a natural he is on camera. I agree, he certainly has that thing, some call it, "it" but I'm here to tell you, for all the natural ability one may have, the more they practice, the more natural ability they appear to have. Mason has been making videos since he was 9 years old (just turned 9) and here he is having just turned 13. He has 137 videos on his Youtube channel, he's done dozens of live television appearances, 52 live cooking demonstrations (not including the ones he's done on TV), competed in many recipe contests and cooking competitions. He has quite the resume and most of it before he turned 13. I took several years of acting classes, mostly commercial classes and John Swain told us again and again, "If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. Keep doing it, and make it look easy." Mason makes it look easy!  Here's his spot if you didn't get to see it air on last Wednesday.



Be sure to follow him on social media, on Facebook he is Mason Made (facebook.com/masonmadeit), and on Youtube, Instagram and twitter he is Mason Partak. There are some new things coming in 2017 so follow along, it will be entertaining to be sure!

In other news, Dave has a new job with the Guard. I'm not sure what his title is but he is heading up a group to advocate for soldiers who have bonus issues. Now keep in mind, Dave has been doing this for years and is only now being recognized for all he knows. He has saved the deal for so many men and women, he deserves a Real Hero award. I know he won't be holding his breath to see anything from the Guard, but I'm here to say, the work he does makes a difference. If you could speak to those he's advocated for, they would tell you as well.

The Mandarin Festival is this coming weekend and Mason will have a booth in addition to two cooking demos. He has a limited number of bottles that he has signed and we have packaged for gift giving. They are just $1 more than normal price, but they are really pretty, ready to deliver to your host or hostess for Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas. I'm running the cooking stage and all three of us Partaks have recipes for the festival recipe contest. I'll let you know how that all pans out next week. Have a great week and practice love, it feels better than the other things people are practicing right now.

New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and More!

Mason's View in Chicago

I’m running behind but if y’all could run in my shoes for a week, you would be not only behind, but tired, too! So last time you heard from me, Lisa and I were in NYC having the time of our lives on a girls trip. That was Monday the 10th and on Tuesday the 11th, Mason was back home in Auburn meeting a crazy busy schedule as well. Our family friend Gary picked him up very early to travel to Grass Valley where Mason did several live cooking demos at an elementary school who does a tasting week each year. While Mason and I were out for lunch a number of months ago, the woman who organizes the event recognized Mason from Chopped Junior and asked if he would be a guest chef. Well wouldn’t you know it, the event was the same time I was to be in NYC and Dave could not take him so Gary offered. 

In the meantime, while I’m planning my trip to NYC, the call comes in that Mason has been invited to appear on a national television talk show and needs to leave for Chicago on Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday afternoon? You mean the same Tuesday that he is cooking in Grass Valley in the morning? UGH! So Gary took Mason in the AM and delivered him to Dave by noon so the two of them could catch a plane in the afternoon to Chicago. The two of them had a whirlwind trip and all of us Partaks landed at Sacramento International airport on Thursday, tired and ready to all be home sleeping in our own beds. We made it home, got the laundry in the washer, did the dishes from the cooking demos on Tuesday, paid bills, returned calls, took hot showers, and got a good nights sleep. 

Friday Mason had to practice two recipes as we were putting those clean clothes back in suitcases to head to Los Angeles where Mason is competing in another big cooking contest. It will be televised so I can’t share the details yet, but as soon as we know when, we will share with you. Up, up and away we went and here we are in Burbank, CA and Mason is competing today. Send good vibes our way and I’ll do my best to post on time next week. Happy Monday!

The "Kids Can Cook" Cooking Stage

The Gold Country Fair was a wild success! The “Kids Can Cook” Cooking Stage was a big hit and all the kids followed through and did their cooking demos. Abby, who is just 6 years old didn’t back out and my oldest newbie Blake, did a great job, too! Ryan and Dylan who are normally shy kids, did their demos and though they were on the quiet side, they followed through and served up some yummy bites for the audience to taste. 

I wanted to do the kids cooking stage because so many people tell me how extraordinary Mason is, and to some degree, I agree. I also believe that Mason has excelled because of the opportunities he’s had and I wanted to give other kids an opportunity, too. What I learned last weekend is that yes, there are other kids who can cook, but I also learned that Mason is extraordinary. He has a gift and he puts on a show (even from his very first demo) that the other kids lack. Yes, he’s gifted, in the kitchen and as a young entertainer and I couldn’t be more proud of him.

Now we have a little lull before the next big push on the cooking stage with the upcoming Auburn Home Show (Sept 30 - Oct 2) and then we go right into developing recipes for the Mandarin Festival (Nov 18-20). Dave is getting a new job with the Guard so his scheduled is in more flux than usual so it’s hard to know what he will be doing with us. I’m hoping he won’t have to be gone as much in December with the new position, but that remains to be seen.

Mason will be a celebrity judge at the Hot Chili Cool Cars event this Saturday in Rocklin and then we are looking at another opportunity with a television show. I’ll keep you posted here, but it you want up to date info as it comes out, be sure to like his Facebook page, that’s where updates are posted first. Have great week with lots of love! Kathy

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

It's Labor Day which to most people just means a day off from work and an opportunity to barbecue. Dave and Mason have been at Pacificon, a game convention in the bay area. Dave has been at a game convention during Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends as long as I've known him and now it's Dave and Mason. There are times when something special comes along that I wish we could go as a family, but for the most part, I look forward to having the long weekend to myself. 

This long weekend I worked, showed houses, ran errands, helped dig out the kitchen cooking stage supplies for the upcoming Gold Country Fair, I took care of a project in the backyard (that one was tricky by myself), got Dave's car washed, cleaned the house, and I took myself out to dinner last night and then relaxed in the hot tub. 

Speaking of the fair, I am running the cooking stage again this year, but the difference is I've got almost all kids doing the cooking demos. How fun is that? I know Mason has something special in his love and ability to perform and entertain, but I think we know this about him because he's had opportunities that other kids don't normally get. I want to give kids the opportunities to do a cooking demo, perform, entertain, and be in the spotlight. It's the perfect venue in that the local fair is smaller in scale and attendance but it's bigger than the stage in their living room. I've got four kids other than Mason, Abbey is the youngest at 6 years old and Blake is the oldest at 15. Ryan is 11 and Dylan is 12 and both have never done anything like this, but they really want to. Who knows how this will all play out, but I think it's really cool that we are creating an environment to empower our local kids. They may not keep cooking and performing, but they are going to move on in life knowing they can do it. I've arranged for each child to not only get rides at the fair, and our good friend Gary has donated Pampered Chef gifts to put in their goody bags as a thank you gift. The Auburn Journal did a story and included each of the kids photos and I will have lots of pictures next Monday after the fair. 

Dave and Mason are on their way home and I have to get the kids recipes formatted and printed for next weekend. I also need to get the schedules put together to be printed. It's going to be a busy week, but hey, what's new about that?! I hope you had a great weekend and as the new week approaches, target one thing you can do to move your dreams forward. It can be as small as starting to play your perfect holidays, or bigger, putting a down payment on your dream vacation for next year. Do it, you won't be sorry!

He Doesn't Want A Kids Menu

Having an accomplished kid cook provides for some interesting experiences dining out. Tonight we were out and the first thing they ALWAYS ask, "Do you think you want a grown-up menu, or a kids menu?" I get it, but it doesn't matter that he's a kid cook (of course they don't know that), he looks more like a teen than a child. Then when he orders, most of the time the server gets that he has a better understanding of food than most kids his age. Not last night. Mason ordered like this, "I would like such-and-such burger, absolutely pink, all the produce, with sweet potato fries with a chipotle aioli please." The server, "Oh honey, are you sure you want pink, you know that's rare? And we don't have chipotle aioli, we have Sriracha, they are the same, I bet you will like it." Mason replied politely, "Yes, thank you, I know pink is rare." he looked at me and rolled his eyes as she walked away. 

My favorite part comes when they ask him how his meal was... "The burger was seasoned beautifully, but well done, absolutely not pink like I ordered. The sweet potato fries were cold, but the mozzarella sticks provided an epic cheese pull! My mom had to take it for me because my arm was not long enough to keep it going. Other than the meal taking a really long time to come out, which is probably why the fries were cold, it was okay." 

I guess I'm just trying to say, if we give our young people a little more credit, listen to them, I bet they will rise to whatever the occasion is and impress the heck out of us adults. #SayYes #EmpowerYourKids#HeDoesntWantAKidsMenu

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.

Mason Made Me Dinner

Snow in Auburn!

Happy "Brrrr" Monday!

Yes, it's been cold, damn cold! We got 4-5 inches of snow here in Auburn on Friday night and Saturday and it's been so cold, we still have it. Last night when I went to bed, it was 30 degrees, so it's safe to say, Mason will be over the moon to go to school this morning and still have snow on the soccer field. For those of you who live with snow, I know, it's novel for us and that it came before Christmas makes it even more magical.

Mason getting the great news!

There has been plenty going on at Casa de Partak. The cookie factory is open and I have already had over 100 cookies go out to wonderful causes. I'm now in the process of wrapping up my last request for 30 gingerbread boys and just focusing on decorating the cookies I give as holiday gifts. Of course, Mason loves decorating with me and he's getting really good. You can still quickly tell which cookies I did and which he did, but I remind him all the time, I've been icing cakes and cookies since I was just 23 years old, that's 24 years of practice! I expect he will soon be outdoing me and I can't wait for that day! Speaking of Mason, I think I shared with all of you that Mason made a presentation of an application for his school kitchen project to be considered for the Auburn 49er Lions "Celebrity Chef Challenge" grant that they do every year in March. Well, out of 8 applications, they chose Masons! They said not only were the letters from his fellow students compelling, but the personal presentation Mason made when he dropped off the application really impressed the board. For this grant, Mason and his school will have to sell tickets to the event and we have to decorate the hall. The 49er Lions will arrange for all the Celebrity Chefs and auction items in addition to all the other arrangements. The grant is a minimum of $5000 but can be more if we all pitch in and sell more tickets. If you want to come, it's March 6, 2014 and tickets are $17 per person - so save the date! On a personal note, I wasn't notified about the announcement so I wasn't there when they came to Mason's school to share the good news. The representative from the Lions club asked Mason to come up on stage as he acknowledged and congratulated him. I was so proud to learn that without any coaching, Mason had the good sense to thank his fellow students for writing letters and noting that this is a team effort, it's not just him. Good job son, it validates all the talking about lifting others up that I do that I think you are not hearing!  

Dave is at his annual training for the Guard and we were all sad he missed the snow and the local Christmas festivities. It is what it is and the way I see it, we'll just have to make up for lost time when he gets home next weekend. Auburn's Old Town Country Christmas is Saturday and we are hoping he will be home in time for us to all go.

Finally, if you know anyone who is thinking of buying a house and has a union connection, put them in touch with me. There is a program for union members, former union members, and family members of (current/previous/retired) union members that could be really helpful to help them buy. It's also got benefits for refinance. I am making my living working in real estate so if I have ever helped you with loans, loan mods, or just free consulting, please think of me for yourself and referrals of family and friends who may be selling and buying!

Merry Christmas,

Kathy