YvonneinLA

Starbucks New Blonde Roast Coffee

2012-01-12T23:30:00.000-08:00

Coffee. I love it. I drink a lot of it and I’m veryparticular about it. This week I went to a tasting of a new brew at Starbucks in WestwoodVillage. It’s a “Blonde Roast” and the beans are roasted for ashorter amount of time for a lighter-bodied coffee.

Now, I drink very strong coffee every morning and sometimesall day long. At home I drink Starbucks Café Verona, which is a dark roast. ButI also buy Pike Place, which is a medium bodied coffee.

At the tasting we got to try all 3 side by side. The one Iliked best was surprisingly the Pike Place, which isn’t what I drink every day.It tasted different brewed in the store from the way I make it at home. Fresherbeans? Finer grind? I’m not sure. But it was really good. Not bitter, but strongand full of flavor.

That morning, the Blonde Roast, which is called the Verandaand packed in a pretty yellow highlighted bag, seemed a little too light for mytaste.

Then this afternoon, as I envisioned a long night looming infront of me, I decided to try the sample bag I got at the tasting. It wasperfect for that time of day. It was lighter, but still had flavor.

Starting this week, customers can order the Veranda inStarbucks stores and buy the beans in grocery stores around the US. It's worth trying out. You may find, like me, that it's your new afternoon coffee.

Beauty and the Beast in 3D

2012-01-12T00:19:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you just need to lay down the law. This is what I hadto do with my two boys recently when I told them we were going to see Beautyand the Beast in 3D. They did not want to go because they felt it was aprincess movie. Okay, it is a princess movie, but it’s such a good one.

The music is great. The animation is wonderful. And thestory has a beast and a lot of dark and scary elements. I sold my boys on the darkand scary elements, but mainly they went because I told them they had to.

And of course Mom Knows Best and they had a great time.Actually, they really did have a great time and they loved the movie. It didn’thurt that we saw it at a screening at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood andBeauty and the Beast came on stage before the movie started. It also didn't hurt that there was a funny, new animated short, Tangled Ever After, that played before the film.

Here’s a clip from Beauty and the Beast 3D that starts tomorrow for alimited engagement.

Resolution Shmezolution: I'm Just Trying to Get Through the Day

2012-01-11T09:40:00.000-08:00

Uggh. Everywhere I go people are talking about their New Year's resolutions. It was even a homework assignment in my son's kindergarten class (he's resolved to do more jumping jacks). People are talking about how they will make more money, start a diet, be a better person. January 1st is full of promises.

But the thought of another thing I "must" do is exhausting. I know I need to lose weight, but if I make a declaration, write a blog post, and tell the world it will result in me diving head first into a box of See's Candy. I almost started a new exercise plan, but I already run and lift weights as much as my schedule will allow. Any more and it will effect my work and time with my kids.

It would also effect the amount of sleep that I get. Ok. If I have one resolution, one declaration to be made to the world it's that I will get more sleep. No more falling asleep on the couch with my latop on my lap. No more falling asleep while talking to my husband (sadly, I've done this while I'M the one talking). No more bags under my eyes.

This year, while my son is doing jumping jacks, I will be napping. Go 2012.

PBS Winter Press Tour: My Chat with Ray Suarez

2012-01-05T13:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to attend the PBS Winterpress tour in Pasadena.

The highlight for me was a panel on PBS presidentialelection coverage that included Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff (both via satellite),and Ray Suarez of PBS NewsHour.

Suarez took the room full of journalists to task for notasking more about how PBS will cover the 2012 presidential election. He saidthat every 4 years journalists talk about how the upcoming election is themost important of a generation, but this year politicians are arguing about what role the government should play in our lives. The future of social security and publicbroadcasting is at stake.

He also mentioned that two states, Arizona and Nevada, wouldbe getting a lot of attention in the coming months because many Latinos inthose states will be turning 18. After the panel, I asked Ray Suarez his thoughts on thevoting power of Latinos in the presidential election and the impact of theupcoming Supreme Court decision on SB1070 (the Arizona immigration law).

Road Trip to Tucson, Arizona in a Lincoln MKT

2012-01-02T13:18:00.000-08:00

Sunset in Tucson (photo by Yvonne Condes)

I love Tucson in the winter. It's crisp and cold and the desert is quiet and beautiful. It's been years since my husband and I have taken the kids to spend Christmas there so this year we packed the car and made the 8-hour road trip from Los Angeles.

The car in question was graciously provided by Ford. We borrowed a Lincoln MKT for a week and put about 1,200 miles on it. It was a fabulous roadtrip car. It was roomy and luxurious with leather seats and so much leg room.

We were able to pack two kids, 5 suitcases, Christmas presents, blankets, and pillows and we could still see out of the back of the car. Once we got to Tucson and unpacked the car, we could fit 2 more people once we put up the seats in the third row.

My favorite features in this car-full-of-cool-features were the built in cooler that we used for cheese sticks, sodas, and water, and also the AC outlet that I used to run and charge my laptop while we were driving. I didn't use the laptop while I was driving, but it was great for the passenger. The only thing I didn't like about the Lincoln was the gas mileage. We got 21 miles per gallon on the highway, which seems good for a vehicle of this size, but less than we were hoping for. It drove wonderfully and we loved the GPS telling us how far we had to go.

It was interesting to get to use all of the new technology and safety features that are available in new cars these days. The Lincoln had adaptive cruise control that would automatically slow down in traffic. In normal driving, if the car sensed that we were approaching something too rapidly an alarm would go off to warn us to brake quickly. When backing up, not only was there a rear camera, but an alarm would sound if we were getting too close to something. And then there was the mood lighting. The interior accent lights could be changed to a variety of fun colors.

The cars features combined with my kids' good moods and lack of traffic made for the best drive to Tucson I've ever had. We left late morning from West LA and arrived at Loews Ventana Canyon in the early evening. We got a great deal on the hotel and had a fabulous time there. The first night an astronomer had set up a telescope and allowed guests to look at the stars while she gave a talk. Weeks earlier, the hotel had a gingerbread making party and decorated the gingerbread men that stood guard around the gingerbread replica of the San Xavier del Bac Mission in the lobby.

After a day visiting with friends, we took the kids to my favorite place in Tucson, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. The desert zoo has outdoor walking trails where you can see coyote, mountain lions, javelina, gila monsters, and hawks in their natural habitat. I think we did the entire 2 miles of desert path while we were there. The Raptor Free Flight was amazing. We watched as group of hawks flew from cactus to cactus and then swooped down and attacked and ate an animal on the ground.

On Christmas Eve, we packed up and headed to my brother's house. But first we stopped at the DeGrazia Gallery of the Sun. DeGrazia was a Tucson artist that interned for Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco and became well-known in the late 50s after Unicef chose one of his paintings for a worldwide holiday card. The picture below is from the chapel next to the gallery.

A mural in DeGrazia's Chapel at the Gallery of the Sun
in Tucson, Arizona

On our last day before we left Tucson, we visited Nogales, Arizona to see more family. I haven't been there in years and I was saddened to learn that my late Aunt Tita's house had been torn down . It was beautiful and old and spooky and I wish it were still there so I could show it to my kids. We were able to see my late grandmother's house from the outside and the old church that we would visit on Christmas Day.

Then we packed up the Lincoln and headed back to Tucson. It was a really wonderful trip and in a very sweet ride.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post, but I was loaned a Lincoln MKT for a week.

What the ñ?

2011-12-30T11:51:00.000-08:00

I found this video on News Taco, The Latino Daily. I love the site and not just because one of my posts was reprinted there earlier this year. It's because they have great content and I get to read stories or watch videos I might not find anywhere else.

To Tamale or not to Tamale

2011-12-28T20:30:00.000-08:00

Tamale assembly line

I can remember only one time that we had homemade tamales at Christmas. My mom and a couple of her friends got together and made green corn and red chile tamales. They made them once, but complained for years. The tamales took days to make, but minutes for our family to scarf them down.

A couple of years ago, I started a tradition of making tamales for New Year's Eve. A few of us got together and worked in an assembly line so it wasn't too bad.

But this year, I'm tired of cooking and cleaning and while I'm currently on the mend, I've been sick all week. The last thing I want to do is make tamales and clean up the mess. Now I understand what my mom was talking about. She worked and had 4 kids. Making tamales was a time commitment and she had so little time to spare.

Then I read this lovely post on MomsLA about Christina Simon's New Year's Eve tradition to make Hoppin' John (black eyed peas) every year in honor of her late mother.

It's not a tradition if I don't do it every year. So on Friday, I will soak the corn husks in water and Saturday I'll make the masa and wait for friends to come over. We'll spend the afternoon assembling the masa, green chiles, and cheese. We'll drink coffee and chat. And hopefully next year, in spite of busy schedules and holiday malaise, we'll do it again.

Making Holiday Cookies with the Kids - Video

2011-12-22T10:48:00.001-08:00

There are so few pictures of me when I was a kid. I am the youngest of 4 and by the time I came around my parents were burnt out. There is even one picture of my sister that my mom tries to pass off as me. I vowed this would not be the case with my kids.

So when my sons were born, like any new mom with a digital camera, I took hundreds of pictures. More of the first born than the second, but still a lot.

What I don't have is video. It just never occurred to me. When I was given a Sony Handycam at an event hosted by the fabulous Kimberley Blaine, they gave us everything to shoot a video of the kids making cookies. A Sony Handycam plus cookie mix, chef hats, and decorations. At first I thought I would do gluten-free cooking videos without the kids. It seemed too hard to coordinate all three of us doing an activity together and then documenting it.

Then unexpectedly we had a free afternoon and they wanted to make cookies. It was so much fun. I've watched the video a couple of times and now I regret not taking more video of them when they were little. I hope this is a new tradition.

We Art the 99%, Celiac Disease, and Happy Endings

2011-12-19T09:13:00.000-08:00

Things have been very busy over at MomsLA.com where I am editor and cofounder. I haven’t been posting as much at YvonneInLA, something that I hope will change in 2012, but I have been posting other places. For example:

I had a fascinating evening at the opening of We Art the 99% at the Latino Museum. The art is a collection of paintings, sculpture, and drawings that protesters worked on during their 2 months at the OccupyLA encampment. I wrote about it for CBS Los Angeles, Best of LA section.
My husband was diagnosed with Celiac Disease10 years ago last month. I talked about how he was diagnosed and how it changed our lives on MomsLA.com.
The Wasserman Foundation gave LAUSD $4 million in the form of Donors Choose gift cards. The cards are worth $15 and must be spent on classroom projects. To learn more check out my story on MomsLA.com
I had the amazing opportunity to go to the TEDxWomen conference, which I wrote about on Technorati.com and posted here as well. But before the sessions started I was thrilled to be able to interview Debbie Reynolds, who was charming and fabulous.
Recently, my MomsLA colleague and I were fortunate enough to get a tour of the set of Happy Endings and interview the cast. Here’s the first interview with Casey Wilson who plays Penny.

A Lovely Day of Wine Tasting

2011-12-16T12:11:00.000-08:00

There are certain people in my life that when they call, text, or email I know it’s going to be good. When Ana Flores sent a message about wine tasting in Santa Barbara with the lovely ladies of Latina Bloggers Connect and Sprint, I knew I had to go.

And I was so right. Really nice people and a beautiful day made it relaxing and fun. And even more amazing is that I won a Sprint Boost Mobile phone. Thank you, Sprint!

First we hit Fess Parker Winery and were treated to lunch by Nicole Presley of Presley’s Pantry and Ericka Sanchez of Nibbles and Feasts.

Then we hit Saarloos and Sons where flights of wine were paired with cupcakes. I’m picky about cupcakes especially the frosting and these cupcakes were delightful.

Then we took a nice walk around Los Olivos to end our great day together.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post, but I did win a Sprint Boost phone, was given a bottle of wine, and enjoyed a fabulous day of wine tasting.

Gluten-Free Tres Leche Cake

2011-12-15T12:05:00.000-08:00

There are certain things that remind me of Christmas. And they’re not the usual things people think of like Christmas trees and nutmeg. For me, it’s the cold, dry, desert air, family talking very loud in Spanish and English, See’s Candy, and Tres Leche cake.

Every Christmas Day, my family and I would pack ourselves in the car and go to my grandmother’s house in Nogales, Arizona. It was a short drive from Tucson, but we didn’t go often so it was exciting when we did.

My grandmother’s house was on the top of a hill. It had a porch with old squeaky chairs, and a staircase that led up to a shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The house was always dark and as a kid it was a little spooky. After a few years, she stopped hosting and we started going to my Aunt’s house.

It was a drastic contrast; bright and loud with people talking and laughing. The best thing about my Aunt’s house was the food. Or should I say dessert. There was a buffet table with tamales, beans, tortillas, and ham, but there was a smaller table at the end with nothing but treats.

Boxes of See’s Candy, cookies, homemade fudge, and best of all a giant Tres Leche Cake would be spread across the table. I would think about the cake all year. But I never tried to make it. It has not one but tres leche. It sounded way too hard.

I finally decided this was the year I would make it. Most everything I bake is gluten-free so not only did I make the cake for the first time, I made it with rice flour.

It wasn’t quite the same as I remembered it, but it was so, so good. And it wasn’t difficult at all after I realized I needed to plan ahead. It came out sweet, and delicious. Not as light as a Tres Leche Cake with gluten, but good. It’s actually Quatro Leche cake because I put milk in the cake as well.

Gluten-Free Tres Leche Cake

Cake

2 ¾ cup gluten-free flour *

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons xantham gum

½ teaspoon salt

2/3 cup butter

1 ¼ cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 eggs

1 cup milk

Filling

1 can evaporated milk (12-ounces)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup half and half

Frosting

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 13 by 9 inch baking pan (not glass) with cooking spray. Mix gluten-free flour, baking soda, baking powder, xantham gum, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

Beat butter for 30 seconds. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until combined. Add eggs one at a time. Beat for 1 minute for each egg. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture alternating with milk until combined.

Spread the batter evenly into prepared pan. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool cake completely in the pan on a rack. Once it’s cool, use a fork or chopstick to poke holes all over the cake. Whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and half and half. Pour over the cake. It will look like it’s pooling in the wrong places, but wait a few minutes and it will seep into the cake. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.

The next morning or hours later, whip the heaving whipping cream, sugar and vanilla until it forms stiff peaks. Spread over the cake. Serve and enjoy!

I'm sharing my new favorite milk recipe as part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor’s Board and Latina Mom Bloggers. For more milk recipes and a little dose of #positivismo visit the Master of the Glass Half Full on Facebook or Twitter.

*Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix from the Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy

6 cups white rice flour
2 cups potato starch
1 cup tapioca flour
Store leftover flour in an airtight container

Tedx Women - A Call to Action

2011-12-08T12:41:00.000-08:00

This post first appeared on Technorati Women

Shamila Kohestani was trapped in her house for years. She couldn’t read a book or study for fear of angering the Taliban. Jennifer Siebel Newsom was told to take her Stanford MBA off of her resume and lie about her age when she sought jobs in Hollywood. Ivy Navarette was born to cocaine addicted parents in Los Angeles’ Boyle Heights, and by the age of 13 she was an addict herself and in a gang.

These women told their incredible stories at the TedxWomen Conference held in both New York and Los Angeles on Dec. 1. I attended the Los Angeles sessions at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills that included a surprise appearance by Barbara Streisand.

Kohestani and Navarette were part of an impressive session called ReImagine hosted by Journalist Lisa Ling. The session also included the three-first place winners of the Google Science Fair and the Founder and CEO of TeachAIDS. Together they prompted attendees to imagine a life outside normal bounds and customs.

Kohestani was just 9-years old when the Taliban took over in Afghanistan. She couldn’t go to school, read books, or study. “I never thought I would want school over any gifts,” she said. When she discovered soccer she was ridiculed and humiliated over and over again. It just made her stronger. So strong she went on to become the captain of the first Afghanistan women’s national soccer team. Now she’s a college student in New Jersey speaking out for girls around the world. She asked the audience to think about what our freedom means to us and challenged us to go out and help someone attain their freedom.

For Navarette, help came for her in the form of a job and a sense of hope. After years of drug use and abusive relationships she hit rock bottom and ended up in prison. In rehab she met someone who told her about Father Greg Boyle and Homeboy Industries. Boyle has the largest gang intervention program in the country. Today, Navarette has custody of her young son and has been clean for nearly a year. She works at Homegirl Café, where former gang members are trained as chefs, waitstaff, hostesses, and management. Former Homegirl employee Shayne Welcher, also part of the panel, summed it up best when she said “It’s life-changing to know there is a second chance out there.”

The Session ReBirth was about transitions, or rather, third acts. Being a woman of 40, I was really moved by the session moderated by Jane Fonda in New York. Fonda talked about how she dreaded turning 50 and thought she was going to be a crotchedy old lady. Now that she’s well into her third act of life, she’s happier than she’s ever been. “I have such a powerful feeling of well being,” she said. “When you’re inside oldness as opposed looking at it from the outside, fear subsides. You realize you’re still yourself, maybe even more so. Picasso once said ‘It takes a long time to become young.’”

Feeling young and being healthy means taking care of oneself. In the session Relationships hosted by Trevor Neilson of Global Philanthropy Group, Barbara Streisand and Dr. Noel Bairey Mertz talked about how women need to help educate and fight against heart disease, the number one killer of women in America. Heart disease is an epidemic and has long been researched as a man’s disease. But women and men have different symptoms to the disease and different bodies. Gender inequality is a problem in medical research and it matters when researching diseases.

And it’s gender inequality that Newsom has been fighting against. She spoke in the same session about how media is feeding our children images that are “killing our daughters’ ambition and destroying empathy in our sons.” According to Newsom, we need to stand up and demand a media that represents us all. As consumers we need to try to change a culture that says “If you can make a sex tape and get it online you can be a celebrity overnight.”

And that is so true. In a culture like ours I find it’s easy to be flooded with meaningless fluff about how much money Kim Kardashian made from her short lived marriage or the latest Housewives show. But sadly, the truly important things get lost, like hearing about Dr. Piya Sorcaris who changed the face of HIV prevention education around the world.

By the end of the Tedx Women I was overwhelmed by what I had learned and felt. Lisa Ling said something that really hit home. She said that after covering conflicts all over the world including women being raped in the Congo, child soldiers in Afghanistan, and children being trafficked for sex. She asked herself if there was a God how can he allow these horrible things to happen.

Her husband answered her by reading a poem called, “Why,” where a little girl asks God how he can let bad things happen and why doesn’t he do something to stop them.

After a while God said “I certainly did do something about it. I made you. I made all of you. I made all of you who are watching in so many countries around the world.” As Ling told the story to the audience she said, “That’s when I reimagined my purpose.”

I think that many of the women that listened to TedxWomen will too.

Holidays at Disneyland

2011-12-03T11:35:00.000-08:00

Disneyland is a pretty magical place for me as I've said before, but Disneyland during the Holidays is even more special. For example, take the tree shown above. It's 60 feet tall, has 1,800 ornaments, and 70,000 lights. That's not your average tree.

But of course, Disneyland is anything but average especially at this time of year. Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure are decorated for the holidays including "It's a Small World" and "Haunted Mansion."

There's a special fireworks show called "Believe in Holiday Magic."

And my kids especially loved the "Christmas Fantasy Parade."

I was there with a group of bloggers and we spent part of the day running around the park looking for stuff to fulfill "Merriest of Holidays Scavenger Hunt." I was lucky enough to be on Team Mickey.

We ended the day with a holiday party where the bloggers and their families were treated to dinner and special holiday desserts including these s'mores.

And these Dulce de Leche Nachos from Disneyland's Cocina Cucamonga.

If you can swing it, there's nothing like spending the holidays at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post, but I was given 4 tickets to Disneyland for me and my family

Chocolate Milk - Not Just For Kids

2011-11-30T16:11:00.001-08:00

The older I get the harder it is for my body to recoverafter a workout. Way, way back in the day I used to be able to run as much as Iwanted and then stay out all night. Well, now if I go on a run that’s longerthan 4 miles, I’m nodding off during 6 pm dinner.

I’ve tried everything. My favorite was a fizzy drink thathad electrolytes and vitamins. Perfect for recovery and also because I often forgetto take vitamins. It turned out to be not so perfect. I was getting the terriblestomach aches and couldn’t figure out why. My husband, who is alwayssupportive, said “Hmmm, let’s try to figure this out. You’ve had a stomach acheat the same time every day after doing the same thing…What could that be?”

But it’s vitamins? Once I stopped taking the drink, thestomach aches stopped. So much for that kind of recovery. I tried a few more newdrink mixes and sports drinks, but I’m always so hungry after a run. I end uptaking in so many “recovery” calories that I was starting to ask myself, Whatis the point of burning 600 calories when I’m taking in 250 the first 5 minutesafter I burn them?

Now, I’ve turned to protein. And not the sports drinks thathave protein in them. I’m a Positivity Ambassador for the California MilkProcessor’s Board and last week we talked on Twitter about, among other things,the benefits of milk. One of my tips was to drink chocolate milk after a run. Ido that occasionally, but I’ve started replacing my sports drinks with chocolatemilk.

Sound crazy? It’s not! Sports enthusiasts have been saying thisfor years. For example, Runners World Magazine says that chocolate milk has justthe right amount of protein and carbohydrates to aid in recovery. And it hascalcium and vitamin D. It also recommends buying single serving containers soyou don’t overdo it. Really good advice because I can drink a lot of chocolatemilk.

What’s great about chocolate milk after doing endurancesports such as running, cycling, and swimming is that it can also curb hunger. Milk is food not just a drink and having protein along with carbs willhelp so I’m not as hungry. Ihave issues with eating too much after long runs. To break it down; milkmakes me full and sugary chocolate makes me happy.

For more information about the benefits of milk visit theMaster of the Glass Half Full on Facebook orTwitter.

Disclosure:This is post is part of a sponsored campaign with the California MilkProcessor’s Board and Latina Mom Bloggers.

Treatsa - Milk and Cookie Delivery Review

2011-11-28T11:32:00.001-08:00

There’s nothing that gets my attention like an email with Cookiesin the subject line. I recently got an invitation to try a new website called Treatsa,which delivers fresh gourmet cookies to your door. You can also order a bottleof milk.

The company just launched in Los Angeles and is currently deliveringcookies from Platine Bakery in Culver City. I love Platine’s cookies and I lovemilk so I was sold before I ever got the package. But my foodie friends are alittle pickier so I had them try out the cookies at our monthly mom and kidsplaydate.

First I went on Treatsa’s website and chose the Premium Chef’sChoice pack that had butterscotch cookies, chocolate and vanilla sandwichcookies, chocolate chip cookies, and sugar cookies. There was also a little boxwith 4 mini chocolate cupcakes. Everyone at the playdate raved about thepresentation in the boxes. I asked about 6 people what they thought of the cookiesand everyone agreed that they were amazing. The hands down favorite was thebutterscotch cookie.

I received the cookies and milk as a free trial, but the box I ordered costs$50 and the milk was $5. With tax and hand delivery it was $67.25. I think that’spretty reasonable for a holiday gift for the office or a friend. I ordered acouple of days ahead and it was delivered on the day I specified.

If you're looking for a nice holiday gift, you really can't go wrong with warm cookies and cold milk.

The Muppets!

2011-11-23T10:14:00.001-08:00

Last year I made my boys sit down with me and watch TheMuppet Show. I was determined to make them like it. They did not. So I went to YouTube.I was thrilled when they fell in love with The Muppets doing “BohemianRhapsody.” But still no Muppet Show.

Now, I can happily say my kids are Muppet converts all the way. We saw ascreening of The Muppets at the El Capitan and they absolutely loved it. It wassilly and fun and full of corny jokes.

The Muppets opens with Walter, a puppet living in a Smalltown USA and just realizing that he’s different. He too loves the Muppets and tagsalong with his best friends Gary (Jason Segal) and Mary (Amy Adams) to LosAngeles. There he gets a tour of Muppet Studios and he uncovers a plot thatforces him to find Kermit and help him get the gang back together.

What was great about the movie is that it is good hearted tothe core. It’s not trying to be hip and cool. It’s sweet and funny and perfectfor kids and their nostalgic grown up parents.

We’re definitely watching the Muppet Show this holidayweekend. In the meantime, I’m going to have them watch mysecond favorite Muppet video, which is Kermit and Bret McKenzie singing “Life’sa Happy Song.” And this video, the last trailer to be released for the movie that opens today.

Nothing Says Home Like Flan

2011-11-23T05:56:00.001-08:00

Pumpkin Flan

Milk, sugar, and vanilla: Three of my favorite things in theworld. As a child I wasn’t allowed to have sugar (too gordita!) so of course Ithought about it all the time. My mom didn’t make a lot of desserts growing up,but she did make one that combined my three favorite things. Her flan is to diefor. It’s milky, sweet, and so rich.

Banana Flan with
fresh bananas and salted caramel

For years I tried to make it myself, but I couldn’t recreateit. It wasn’t dense enough. It wasn’t rich enough. It wasn’t hers. Growingup I hated cooking and would spend my time in the kitchen reading a bookuntil it was time to cut vegetables or grate cheese, not paying attention towhat she put into her amazing dishes.

When I asked her how she made her flan she said “It’s justcondensed milk, evaporated milk, eggs, and vanilla.” How many eggs? How muchcondensed milk? Her answer was different every time.

Finally, I got her to look through her recipes (which werejust a list of ingredients, no quantities) and write down how she made it. Iwas blown away by how simple it is. And how bad it is for you! Now I realizewhy I never could recreate it. I was trying to make a lower fat version. Well,there’s no low fat happening here.

I save her flan for very special occasions. Because I don’twant my boys wondering how I make any of the foods they love, I have them helpme when I cook. I want my kids to have that memory of one taste that makes themthink of home.

Here is my mom’s recipe for flan, which is easy anddecadent. And below is a slightly lower fat, lower sugar Pumpkin Flan recipethat I made for my son’s kindergarten Thanksgiving celebration. It has whole milk, but you can easily substitute low fat milk. And best of all, its naturally gluten-free.

Flan de mi Mama enTucson

1 cup sugar

2 cans sweetened condensed milk (14-ounce cans)

1 can evaporated milk (12-ounces

5 eggs

1 teaspoon good quality vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 and have a 9-inch cake pan ready. Slowlymelt 1 cup of sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar iscompletely melted and golden.

Quickly pour into cake pan and using pot holders, swirl thepan around until the caramel is covering the bottom and about 1 inch up thesides (doesn’t have to be perfect).

In a large bowl, combine the condensed milk, evaporated milk,eggs, and vanilla. Whisk together until smooth. Pour the mixture into theprepared cake pan. Place pan in a larger pan. Slowly add hot water to thelarger pan so the water comes up 1 inch on the side of the cake pan. Bake for35 to 40 minutes or until the custard is set, which is when a knife comes outclean.

Cool completely and then refrigerate for at least 6 hours orovernight. When it comes time to serve, run a knife along the edge of the panto release the flan. Place a serving plate over the top and flip the flan oververy carefully and let the syrup run over the top of the flan. Serve in sliceswith raspberries just on its own.

Pumpkin Flan

1 cup sugar

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14-ounces)

1 ½ cups whole milk

1 cup canned pumpkin

6 large eggs

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon good quality vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 and have a 9-inch cake pan ready. Slowlymelt 1 cup of sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar iscompletely melted and golden.

Quickly pour into cake pan and using pot holders, swirl thepan around until the caramel is covering the bottom and about 1 inch up thesides (doesn’t have to be perfect).

In a large bowl, combine condensed milk, milk, pumpkin,eggs, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Whisk until the mixture is smooth. Pour themixture into the prepared cake pan. Place pan in a larger pan. Slowly add hotwater to the larger pan so the water comes up 1 inch on the side of the cakepan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the custard is set, which is when aknife comes out clean.

Want more milk recipes? El Maestrodel Vaso Medio Lleno has them linked on his Facebook page. Or visit the Master of the Glass Half Full onTwitter.

Disclosure: This is postis part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor’s Board and Latina Mom Bloggers.

PlayStation Family

2011-11-22T01:38:00.001-08:00

My boys love playing video games, but I don’t always lovethat they often stand stationary (or like my little one; lay down). So I’malways looking for games that will get them moving.

I was recently given a PlayStation3 with the Move games "Medieval Moves: Deadmund’s Quest" and "Sports Champions." My boys were running aroundlike crazy people playing the game and my 7-year-old was sweating after playingfor 10 minutes.

There are so many cool features on the PS3 and Move is oneof them. The Move is a wireless controller that has incredible accuracy when you’replaying a game. I know because I played a lot of games last weekend.

I’m one of several bloggers chosen to be part of Playstation Family.We were invited to Foster City to visit Sony’s PlayStation headquarters and learnmore about the company and products from Sony CEO of Computer EntertainmentJack Tretton. We learned about the amazing capabilities of the PS3 and also thesoon to be released Vita.

My kids will be thrilled with the PlayStation Vita, ahandheld gaming device that’s coming out in February. But what I’m interestedin is the PlayStation Network where you stream television shows, movies, sports,and music. There are HBO shows and movies from Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. WaltDisney, and Paramount along with NFL Sunday Ticket.

But is it safe to use? The PlayStation Network was hacked inApril and the hacker obtained the personal information of 77 million users.

“It clearly opened our eyes,” Tretton said. They learned a valuablelesson and security is the best it’s ever been, he said. Users needed to decide if the content was worth the risk, he said. And it appears that it is. There are now 90million registered accounts in the PlayStation Nework, 13 million more thanbefore the attack.

The selection of movies does look really good and so does the music programwith 10 million streaming songs. I’m excited to create a new running mix forhalf marathon training.

Not only did we learn a lot, but we got to socialize. Someamazing bloggers are part of the Family including my MomsLA cofounders EliseDerby and Sarah Auerswald, and MomsLA contributor Lori Cunningham of The Well Connected Mom.

It was a fun and exhausting 24 hours. I'll be very interested to learn what our next PlayStation Family adventure is going to be.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post, but I was given a PS3, games, and transportation and hotel were provided.

MomsLA Featured on NBCLA

2011-11-21T23:30:00.001-08:00

As I mention often, I'm one of the founders of MomsLA.com. I'm thrilled to tell you that my MomsLA partners, Sarah Auerswald and Elise Derby, and I were among the bloggers featured on a piece tonight about the power of mom bloggers. It was fantastic!

View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

Savvy.com Shopping App for the Bargain Shopper

2011-11-21T09:11:00.001-08:00

There are so many things that I see at a store that I wouldlove to have, but are too expensive. I know they’ll go on sale, but I don’tknow when. I say to myself that I’ll go back, but it usually doesn’t happen.

Recently I was shown an app that is perfect for the bargainshopper. It’s called Savvy.com. You can use the app to scan a barcode and theapp will email you when the item goes on sale. It can also tell you when youbuy something and it goes on sale so you can go back to the store with yourreceipt to get a price adjustment.

A friend and I learned about the app during a lunch hostedby Samantha Fein of Garza Girl at The Grove, my favorite over-the-top LAshopping experience. (Why is it over the top? The Grove’s Santa House is almostas big as mine and Mario Lopez films "Extra" there and snags shoppers fromthe sidewalk to be extras.)

So far, nothing I wanted has gone on sale, but I did say I wouldpay $18 for a $48 scarf. I doubt I’ll get an email about my wish pricing. Butthere was a funky jacket that I’m sure will go on the sale rack soon and I willbe there.

The Savvy.com app launched last week and not all retailersare participating yet. But some of my favorite are including Anthropologie, JCrew, Crate & Barrel, and Best Buy. According to Pricetector.com, retailersmissed out $20 billion in price adjustments during the 2010 holiday season. Fora bargain shopper like me, that is shocking.

I can’t wait to get my first notice of a price adjustment. Ijust hope I can resist spending extra money with my savings.

Disclosure: My guestand I were given money to go shopping and use the app plus we enjoyed a fabulous brunch at The Farm of Beverly Hills.

Gluten-Free Red Quinoa Dressing with Sage and Browned Butter

2011-11-16T10:37:00.001-08:00

Simple Gourmet's Pomegranate Lacquered Sweet Potatoes

My favorite Thanksgiving dish is stuffing. And before myhusband was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, it was his, too. Having Celiac, anautoimmune disorder where gluten attacks your small intestines, means nowheat, barley, or rye. So no stuffing.

Year after year, I’ve tried making gluten-free stuffing, butit wasn’t great. In fact, it wasn’t ever very good. Rice stuffing, gluten-free cornbreadstuffing, and the worst, stuffing made with white rice bread just didn't taste the way stuffing should. They always turned out bland.

But I believe this year will be different. Thanks to SimpleGourmet and a whole lot of browned butter, I made the best stuffing yet.Actually, it doesn’t even compare with my failures of the past. Turns out all Ineeded to do was take a cooking class.

Simple Gourmet in Manhattan Beach invited a group ofbloggers to take their Thanksgiving Classics class thanks to the fabulous hostess,Debbie Goldberg of Manhattan BeachMomma. It was really fun and very informative. Simple Gourmet foundersMelanie Barsuk and Taji Marie showed us how to make the perfect turkey – Apple-ThymeRoasted Turkey with Creamy Pancetta Gravy – pictured below.

They also made amazing potatoes – Yukon Potato Gratin with Parmesan Rosemary Béchamel – which you can see didn't last long. And delicious stuffing – Carmelized Parsnipand Farro Dressing with Sage Browned Butter – pictured below on the bottom left.

Simple Gourmet's Thanksgiving dinner

After watching the Simple Gourmetsmake the food we got to try everything. The turkey was cooked perfectly and the side dishes were very good.

The Farro Dressing was very tasty, but Farro is a type of wheat and isn’tgluten-free. Melanie and Taji said quinoa, which isgluten-free, would make a great substitute.

I’m obsessed with red quinoa right now. It’s tasty and easy to make. The class was so inspiring that I decided I needed to get outof my rut of making the same dishes all the time and cook up a trial run ofSimple Gourmet’s stuffing, but with quinoa.

I didn’t have any parsnip or white onion like the recipecalled for so I took Melanie and Taji’s advice from the class and used what Ihad on hand, which was carrots and red onion.

Here is the recipe I came up with and it came out delicious.I have to admit that I made half the recipe, but used the same amount of butterand cheese that you would use for a full recipe. I served it with scallops toppedwith browned butter and sage.

Gluten-Free Red Quinoa Dressing with Sage and Browned Butter (Adaptedfrom the Simple Gourmet Caramelized Parsnip ad Farro Dressing)

3 Tbls butter

1 red onion

4 cups finely diced carrots

1 Tbls fresh chopped thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

6 cups cooked red quinoa (follow directions on the boxexcept sub chicken stock for water)

2 Tbls poultry seasoning

1 egg

1/3 cup chicken stock

½ cup grated parmesan

6 Tbls butter

2 Tbls chopped fresh sage

Melt 3 Tbls butter and add onions, carrots and thyme. Cookfor 10 to 15 minutes oer medium-high heat until vegetables are soft andbeginning to caramelize. Remove and season with salt and pepper. In a largebowl, toss together the quinoa, vegetables, and poultry seasoning. Taste andadjust salt and paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, stock, andparmesan. Pour the egg mixture over the quinoa and toss to combine.

In a small pan cook 6 Tbls butter and sage over medium heatand cook until golden brown (be careful not to overcook. Can burn easily!).Remove from heat and set aside.

Butter a 9x13 casserole dish and fill with the quinoamixture. Drizzle brown butter and sage evenly over the quinoa. Cover with foiland bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15 more minutes until goldenon top. Serve warm with turkey gravy.

Red Quinoa Dressing with Sage and Browned Butter served with scallops.

(Tip: I'm channeling Paula Dean here, but if you're making this for Thanksgiving, the more cheese and butter you add the better!)

For more recipes visit Simple Gourmet blog.

Master of the Glass Half Full Twitter Party

2011-11-09T00:32:00.000-08:00

I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to readthe awesome bits of wisdom that The Master of theGlass Half Full shares on Twitter, but here is a small sample:

If you’re short, cheer up. When you stumble andfall it’ll be less painful. Your daily glass of #positivismo

Your husband is not losing his hair; he’s growing hisintelligence.

If you feel you’re getting old, cheer up. Oldage is a much better option than dying.

You’re not looking at other men; you’re just confirming howhandsome yours is.

If you have insomnia, use it to your advantage. You have anextra three hours a day. –(This one speaks directly to me as I write this post at 1 a.m.)

Soon you will be able to chat with the Maestro himself.As one of the Positivity Ambassadors for the California Milk Processor’s Board,I’m pleased to invite you to The Master of the Glass Half Full Twitter party. Join me, LatinaMom Bloggers, my fellow Positivity Ambassadors, Toma Leche, and The Master of theGlass Half Full himself for the party on November 16^th from9-10:30 PM ET (6-7:30 PM PT).

We’ll be sharing tips on how to live a morepositive life and sharing our favorite milk-based recipes. Plus we’ll tell yousome creative ways to incorporate milk into your family’s diet and share thehealth benefits of milk. If that’s not enough, there’s a chance to win somegreat prizes. It’s going to be a fun and informative—hope to see you on Twitter!

WHEN: Wednesday, November 16th, 2011, at 6-7:30 pm PTor 9-10:30 pm EST

WHERE: Twitter hashtag #Positivismo

WHO TO FOLLOW: Special Guest: @maestropositivo a.k.a. El Maestro del VasoMedio Lleno (The Master of the Glass Half Full). Panelists: @SassyScorpYM, @Eva_Smith,@michellerivera5, @daytrippingmom, @unknownmami, @shesnachomama, @darielacruz,@nibblesnfeasts, @yvonneinla, @spousesprite, @presleyspantry,@vidacoco, @colombianaenCA, @mamanoticias Moderators: @LatinaMomBlogs, @JollyMom, @Eva_Smith

*PRIZES:

Oster Classic Beehive Blender with a Six Month’s Supply of Milk
Two (2) Six Month’s Supply of Milk
Tree of Life Yoga Kit with a Six Month’s Supply of Milk
NOOKColor & skin with a Six Month’s Supply of Milk

RSVP: To be eligibleto win prizes, you must RSVP at LatinaMomBloggers.com.Click HERE to RSVP.

OFFICIAL RULES: Please makesure to read the Official Rulesat Latina Mom Bloggers.

* Sixmonth’s supply of milk is calculated at 5 gallons per month for six months at$4 per gallon equaling $120 to be paid in the form of a gift card.

*Twitter,NOOKColor, VividView, Oster and Tree of Life Yoga are the trademarks of theirrespective owners, and they are not affiliated with California Milk ProcessorBoard.

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaignwith the California Milk Processor’s Board and LatinaMom Bloggers

80 Days to Train for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon

2011-11-07T14:02:00.000-08:00

Wednesday was the day. After weeks of little exercise and alot of Halloween candy, I finally started to run again.

I’m beginning to train for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon inJanuary and I really want to do better than I did for the Disneyland HalfMarathon (which was just slightly faster than walking).

Wednesday was the perfect day to start training because Ihad time and the weather was beautiful. I ran for 45 minutes and felt great. Iwas sure that I was ahead of the game as far as training.

But then I actually looked at the Tinkerbell online training manualfrom marathoner Jeff Galloway that’s on the Disney Wild World of Sportswebsite. The training manual had runners start training in September. Uggh. I’mbehind again.

But I am ahead on one way. The woman I always turn to when Ihave nutrition/dieting/weight loss questions, Amelia of Eating Made Easy, saidthat if I want to lose the weight I gained doing the LA Marathon earlier thisyear I have to make a change. She said that after a woman turns 40, it’s crucialthat she include strength training into her exercise routine.

So I started a weightroutine this past weekend that is really challenging (I hope the kids don't want anything from the high shelf in the pantry because I can't lift my arms). I’m hoping that losing that 10 pounds will help my running time improve.Ten extra pounds is a lot for a 40-year-old woman to carry around while tryingnot to trip over Tinkerbell. And a lot to lose, but I have 80 days to do it!

Do you have a strength training routine you love? Bar classes, power lifting, yoga?

Halloween: No Tricks, Just Treats at Magnolia Bakery

2011-10-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

Halloween cake at Magnolia Bakery

My 7-year-old son loves baked goods almost as much as I do. But he's picky, too. When I try a new recipe and it doesn't quite work, he has no problem telling me it's not good.

So I knew he would be brutally honest about the cupcakes, pies, cookies, and bars that we were to sample at Magnolia Bakery last week. The bakery threw a Halloween party and my little Indiana Jones was eager to try everything.

And he did try everything. Pumpkin whoopie pies (which I thought were fantastic), cupcakes, pumpkin brownies, butter cookies, and apple pie. After he downed his second mini cupcake he looked at me and said, "This is good. You should give this place a good review."

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I have to admit everything we tried was very good especially the apple pie. The crust was beautiful and delicious. I don't love the cupcakes, but my kids thought they were amazing, even my 6-year-old who is not a fan of baked goods.

My husband is a fan of baked goods, but he can't have them as much as he'd like. He has Celiac Disease and can't have wheat flour so cupcakes are often times out of the question. Luckily, we were at Magnolia on a Tuesday and one of the cupcakes of the day was a flourless chocolate cupcake with a vanilla meringue buttercream. They packed it in a box and we took it home as a surprise.

He was thrilled and so were the boys. Dressing up in costumes and having pie and cupcakes is second only to dressing up in costume and being given candy. Happy Halloween!

Ford’s Car of Tomorrow

2011-10-28T15:20:00.000-07:00

The first new car I bought was a Ford Ranger pick-up truck with a bench seat. It was about 15 years ago and I was living in Southern Illinois working at my first newspaper job when the clunker of a car I had driven from Tucson to the Midwest suddenly died.

My brother sells cars and he told me there were 2 trucks in my price range. They were both manuals with a bench seat, but one had air conditioning and one a radio. It was summer and ridiculously hot so air conditioning won out.

My Ford Ranger was simple, reliable, and the best car I ever had and I think of it fondly. So when Ford invited me out to Orlando to learn about Ford’s vision for new car technology I could not pass it up. I’ve gone from being a single girl in a pickup to a mom in a high tech hybrid SUV. I wanted to know what kind of safety features I can look forward to seeing when my kids start driving.

From the look of it, there will be a lot and they will be amazing.

A group of journalists and bloggers were invited to Orlando, Florida by Ford to learn about new technology and hear Bill Ford, Jr. speak at the World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems.

First we heard about Ford’s Driving Skills for Life program that I wrote about for MomsLA. Then we heard about some of the new safety systems that Ford is working on along with other car companies.

The Intelligent Vehicle Technology is amazing. Ford is working with other car companies to make it possible for vehicles to talk to one another to avoid accidents. I was able to ride along during a demonstration. The video below talks about how the technology works and the last part was the very scary real life scenario. That gasp at the end was me.

The goal is to have all cars talking to each other and talking to intersections to avoid collisions and ease traffic congestion. But what was really interesting to me was the potential for apps for the car that can monitor your health and wellness. Like the car-to-car crash avoidance systems, these are meant to be a way to identify and alert the driver to issues before they become a problem. Ford is working with medical device manufacturers to figure out ways to check blood sugar levels and give allergy alerts for people with asthma or allergies. I don’t necessarily think it’s a good idea for car companies (or insurance companies) to know that much about you, but they say that privacy is important and the systems won’t keep your information.

We also heard Bill Ford, Jr. speak, but I'll have more video on that later.

Disclosure: I was not paid for this post but my family and I were given airline tickets, and hotel stay to attend the event plus Disneyworld tickets. That said, the opinions in this post are my own. You can find more from me at MomsLA.com where I am editor and cofounder.

Berry and Cherry Smoothie Recipe with Milk and Yogurt

2011-10-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while I pull out pictures of my 2 boys as babies. There’s the older one with a bowl of rice and spinach on his head and a big smile on his face. And there’s the younger boy with pureed carrots and peas mashed into his cheeks. See, I tell them, you were so happy when you ate whatever I gave you.

They were the best eaters until one day they weren’t. So I do whatever I can to get healthy food into them. I put peas on their pizza, sprinkle parmesan cheese on their broccoli, and even put chocolate in their milk.

My younger son drinks milk every day, all the time, but the older one only wants it if it’s doctored in some way. His favorite of course is chocolate milk. I add a tiny bit of chocolate and he drinks it up.

Milk and Chocolate Milk in souvenir Hogsmeade mugs

But the way I love to give him milk is in a smoothie. There’s so much nutrition in their morning smoothie that I don’t have to worry when they go the rest of the day without eating much of anything. There’s no added sugar, just really good ingredients.

He gets protein and calcium from milk and greek yogurt. He gets fiber, antioxidants, and Vitamin C from blackberries, raspberries, and dark sweet cherries. And lastly, he gets potassium from banana or mango. Serve the smoothie with a bowl of oatmeal and you have a power breakfast that kids will love.

We experiment smoothie recipes all the time, but this one is our family favorite. The cherries make it especially delicious.

Mixed Berry with Dark Sweet Cherry Smoothie

2 cups frozen fruit (Trader Joe’s Mixed Berry and Cherry Mix)

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 banana

1 cup milk

1/2 cup mango or orange juice (optional to taste)

Place all of the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

There’s still time to vote for your favorite picture in the Master of the Glass Half Full Photo Contest on Facebook. Follow the Maestro on Facebook or Twitter.

This is a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor’s Board and Latina Mom Bloggers.

The Plastic Surgeon: Part 2

2011-10-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is the second of a 2-part post. Part 1 was published Oct. 19.

“That settles that. There’s no chance in hell we’re doing conscious sedation,” I told my husband who was now holding our drowsy little boy.

He then looked at me baffled, like I’d said I was going to tapdance naked through the hospital. “Why? Why wouldn’t we?”

I often wonder how my husband and I can hear the exact same conversation or see the exact same thing and come away with a completely different version of what happened. “Oh, the nurse,” he said. “That’s just her opinion. It doesn’t sound that bad.”

Dr. George (not his real name) came back in and I explained that conscious sedation wasn’t for our son (or me). We decided on Benadryl and hoped for the best. Luckily, I come from a family of narcoleptics. We’ve fallen and stayed asleep at loud concerts, stoplights, bars, and even while holding a conversation. I hoped that my son was as sleepy as his mama.

He was. One shot and he was out. The doctor, nurse, and my husband each asked me if I wanted to leave the room. “It can be very hard for a mother to see a needle put into their child. We don’t want you to pass out.”

I squeezed that kid’s big head through a hole the size of a quarter, idiots. I think I can watch as he gets a couple of stitches, I thought to myself. “I think I’ll be fine.”

The giant needle going in and out of my son’s lip was disturbing to see, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as watching Curious "George" play plastic surgeon.

The first five stitches went in with no problem. Then suddenly, George’s hand started to shake a little. By the 10^th stitch the needle barely made it to my baby’s mouth. His hand was all over the place and at the last second he plunged it into my son's lip. He stopped, turned around, breathed heavily four or five times and continued. After 14 stitches, it was all over.

As my boy continued sleeping I asked the doctor about the flap of skin protruding from my boy’s lip. He said not to worry, the extra skin would fall off in a month.

Four years later, it’s still there.

The Plastic Surgeon: Part 1

2011-10-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

My son in spring 2007

The surgeon walked in the door looking like he’d just come from pumping iron in the hot sun. His rolled up sleeves showed off bronzed biceps that glistened with either sweat or tanning oil, and his thinning hair was gelled up on the top of late forties head. If he had walked into a bar I would have giggled with my friends, but this was no bar; I was in an emergency room holding my bloody 2-year-old son whose upper lip was split in two and partially hanging off.

George Hamilton (not his real name) put out a manicured hand, flashed a dazzling smile and said, “I’m the plastic surgeon they called in to look at your son.” He efficiently checked out my little boy who wailed, kicked and screamed during the 30 second exam. “He definitely needs stitches. And I’m definitely the one to do it.”

“I’m a little nervous about this. But you’ve done this kind of thing a million times, right?” I looked from Dr. George to my husband. “Right?”

Suddenly a cloud passed over George Hamilton’s face. His teeth even seemed to gray as he said darkly, “I don’t know anyone who’s done it a million times. A million times?? I can go out there and try to find another doctor who’s done it a million times.” He started breathing heavy and talking louder. “Do you want me to do that? Right now? Do you?”

“Uhhmmm,” I looked from my husband to the nurse who had just walked in. Both were trying not to look at me. As they searched for their happy place I said, “No.” He took a deep breath and walked out of the room.

“What the hell was that?” I asked the witnesses. “Oh,” said the nurse shaking her head and still not looking at me. “I’m sure he’s ….this is going to be fine. No problem. He’s a great plastic surgeon I’ve heard people say. Great. No problem.”

I looked at my husband. “He seemed like a nice guy,” Carl said. “What’s the problem?”

“That he seems crazy. You don’t think that was a little odd?” I asked patting my son on the back. After the large dose of pain killers, he was starting to doze off.

Dr. George came back in the room, as bright and sunny as the gold highlights streaked through his hair. “Okay, everyone, let’s talk about what we’re going to do here. First we put him under conscious sedation and then we do the stitches. Great! Any questions?”

“How do you do the conscious sedation? Is he going to feel it? How many stitches is he going to have? Will it hurt him?” I took a breath and went on. “Is he going to have a scar? Are the stitches the kind that dissolve or have to be taken out? Will he be able to…”

Dr. George clapped his hands together and said, “Okay, great! I’ll go get everything ready and be right back.”

“But..” my voice trailed off as he left. A new nurse walked in to get a box of gloves from our room when she spotted my boy.

“Oh my God! What happened? Poor baby,” she came over for a closer look.

What did happen? I left my child and his brother at home to make the 2 hour drive to San Diego to take surfing lessons with my sister. I left him with a babysitter and drove far, far away to do something totally self indulgent; not only were we going surfing but we were going to out to dinner and maybe a movie. How could I do that!? (My sister and I are from the desert southwest for God’s sake; we shouldn’t even be in the water!)

“He fell off of his little red wagon face first onto the concrete.”

The nurse examined him and explained the procedure. My son would receive a shot in his arm that would put him out. He would be unconscious, but his eyes would be open. “I would never do that to my child,” she said.

“Why?” I asked, startled by her frankness.

“Because they’re unconscious, but their eyes are open. They lay there unable to move and you just have to wonder; will they ever wake up? It’s terrifying. I would just give him some Benadryl and hope he sleeps through the procedure."

I stared at her as she walked out of the room.

Tomorrow Part 2

Our America With Lisa Ling

2011-10-16T22:09:00.000-07:00

In preparation for lunch with Lisa Ling, a group of us were given access to three episodes of Our America with Lisa Ling. There was one called “Modern Polygamy,” the next “Amateur Porn,” which airs tonight, and the third was about veterans with post traumatic stress syndrome called “Invisible Wounds of War.”

Not surprisingly for me, I watched the polygamy episode of the documentary-style show first. I find that lifestyle fascinating, not just because these men have multiple wives, but I find religious fundamentalists so interesting. How can they believe in something so completely?

And how can a mother let a young girl get into a marriage with an older man who has another wife? I was ready to be outraged. I’ve read “Under the Banner of Heaven,” by Jon Krakauer about two brothers who kill their sister in law and her baby in the name of God and “Escape” by Carolyn Jessop about a woman who escapes her polygamist husband. And I watched every episode of "Big Love" on HBO.

But what was so intriguing about the episode was that I wasn’t outraged. The town that they profiled, Centennial Park, Utah, wasn’t scary and oppressive and it wasn’t a town ruled by men. The women there appear to have a choice and a voice. In fact, according to the show, the women there choose their husbands not the other way around.

Some of the community leaders have even partnered with a Gay rights activist to help them keep the government out of their bedrooms.

Before the show, I had a very definite opinion on polygamy. Now, while I don’t approve of that lifestyle, I can see another point of view.

And that’s what I love about “Our America” on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network. Ling and her team do such a great job of telling intimate, well documented stories. She said that they spend weeks with the subjects they chronicle on the show and she gets to know them. And the audience gets to know them as well.

The show isn’t loud and it’s not yelling at you, Ling said. “It’s not sensational.” Ling’s goal is to take the audience along on a journey and then at the end the hope is that they leave with more understanding and maybe more compassion.

I didn’t feel the same level of compassion to the subjects of the “Amateur Porn” episode that airs tonight. It seemed like a bunch of people making really bad decisions that you know won’t end well. But it was definitely compelling to watch. The second season of “Lisa Ling’s Our America” starts tonight. I would highly recommend checking it out.

The New Muppet Movie Trailer

2011-10-16T13:20:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I love the Muppets. I love the Muppet Show, the Muppet movies, and I can't wait until November 23 when Jason Segel's "The Muppets" comes out. If it's even half as good as the original, "The Muppet Movie," I'll be happy.

Here's the latest trailer and it's fantastic!

OC Blogger Bash: And Now the Pictures

2011-10-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

In case you have not seen the posts about the OC Blogger Bash over at MomsLA or OCBloggerBash.com, let me just tell you, it was fantastic! The food, the music and especially the outfits were amazing. I was very impressed with the effort people put into their looks. Here are a few photo highlights -

Caryn Bailey took this photo of me posing with a candy cigarette

Shayna Marks and Sarah Auerswald (photo by Yvonne Condes)

Shannon of Sassy Lemonade (photo by Yvonne Condes)

(photo by Yvonne Condes)

The MomsLA ladies - Sarah Auerswald, me, and Elise Crane Derby (photo by Yvonne Condes)

Sarah Daly, Mary Kay Holmes, Elise and Sarah (photo by Yvonne Condes)

Sarah and unidentified woman (photo by Yvonne Condes)

Big Voice...Dare to Dream Documentary

2011-10-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

A friend told me about this amazing documentary that his sister is producing. It’s about a Santa Monica High School Choir Director, Jeffe Huls, and his students. The clip is really well done and I hope to see more. The project is still in need of funding though and is halfway to its goal.

For more information visit the fundraising page on Kickstarter or the blog Fair and Unbalanced.

Master of the Glass Half Full Photo Contest

2011-10-04T12:04:00.000-07:00

Being a positivity ambassador has really helped me in the last week. I’m now approaching life with a much better attitude. And it’s an attitude that my son, pictured above, already has. He is a glass half-full kind of guy all the way and I love it. He’s always putting a smile on my face with his excellent take on life.

Now your child can catch a little positivismo with the help of the Maestro. As part of the Master of the Glass Half Full Campaign, parents can enter a Facebook photo contest to win prizes. All you need to do is go to the Maestro’s Facebook page and upload a picture of your child holding a glass of milk just like the Maestro.

The prizes are great for families with little milk drinkers. The 1^st place prize is a french door stainless steel refrigerator with a year’s supply of milk. 2^nd place is a bicycle with a front child seat and a year’s supply of milk. And 3^rd place is a professional blender with a year’s supply of milk.

Photos will be accepted now through October 21^st. Online voting runs from October 24^th through October 28^th. Make sure to check back because the winner will be announced on Monday, November 7.

For a little inspiration, here is a letter from the Maestro himself.

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor’s Board and Latina Mom Bloggers.

My Sister's Wedding

2011-09-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

I was tasked with the hardest writing assignment of my life. My sister is getting married this weekend and I’m writing part of the ceremony.

The piece had to be powerful, meaningful, moving. Geez, it would have been easier to give her a kidney.

But she doesn’t need one. She needed me to write something special. I went with funny and kind of moving. I don’t know if I succeeded, but I gave it all I had.

This is my favorite picture of my sister and I. And this is how I always think of her; taking care of me and making me laugh.

Connecting

2011-09-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

Connect. What does it mean to really connect with someone? I’ve been thinking about this a lot during the last few weeks.

Over the summer I thought the best way to connect with my kids was to have lots of time together. Time where we could just be together. There were several weeks in the summer where they had no camp.

Well, not only did I get behind with work, but my 6 and 7-year-old boys were tearing the house apart. They needed to run around and be outside and have a great summer.

The lesson I learned there was that quality time is just that, quality time. We can have quality time during the hours after camp has ended, the camp that was affordably priced and that they loved. It doesn’t have to be all day long, for a week, just the three of us.

You’d think I’d learn, but not so. When school started I was determined to be more involved in their school because I thought that’s what a good mom should do.

So I volunteered to be room mom. But I’m also on a couple of school committees. And I’m team mom for soccer. As a result, I’ve been trying to keep my head above water. One day I was talking to my younger son’s kindergarten teacher just as school ended. I looked around and I couldn’t find my kindergartener. I went to my older son’s class and the younger one wasn’t there. I walked back to the kindergarten class, inside the class, in the back yard. I looked everywhere and I couldn’t find him

Finally, he found me. He’d walked to the front of the school, hung out a while and came back. The scariest part is that I couldn’t remember seeing him come out of class. I was so focused on talking to his teacher or talking to the other parents that I lost sight of him literally and also why I was volunteering in the first place.

Since that day, I’ve tried to focus on just my kids when school is out and try to be genuinely connected with them instead of doing what I think should be doing to be a good mom.

This post was inspired by a bi-weekly blog prompt called #HalbaTalk through Latina Bloggers Connect.

OC Blogger Bash: What to Wear

2011-09-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wasn't going to share this video about the OC Blogger Bash because I look so ridiculous. But then again that has never stopped me before. I'm in it along with Sarah Auerswald, Elise Derby, and Letty Tennant from Queen of Heartz, who makes vintage inspired clothes. The video itself is fabulous (even though I look like Marge Simpson). I'll let you be the judge.

SLS Hotel and Ciel Spa

2011-09-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

The pool at the SLS Hotel

I’m not a relaxer. I don’t like to get massages. I don’t like yoga unless it’s hot yoga, which is not as relaxing because you’re so hot.

When I told my husband I was invited to the SLS Hotel on Thursday to enjoy spa treatments at Ciel and afternoon tea at Trés, he said one thing to me. “Try to relax.” Which of course made me tense.

Since my boys’ started back at school it’s been a hectic few weeks and work has been very busy. To add to that stress my sister is getting married and she asked me to write something for the wedding. Something great. Something meaningful.

Relax? Forget it, I thought. But then that day, magically, everything came together. I finished my work before I went so there was nothing hanging over my head. There was no traffic and I got there in 10 minutes making me only a little late instead of very late. And when I got there it was so nice.

The group of us were treated to mimosas and fruit salad while we learned about the Lifestyle Suite. I want to live there. There was a TechnoGym in the room, which is a futuristic looking home gym, along with a comfortable bed and giant TV.

Then we took a tour of José Andrés’ Bazaar and Trés where everyone would be having tea in the afternoon.

The bar at The Bazaar

After that we went to the pool. It was like Alice in Wonderland’s pool with cocktails instead of hallucinogens (see picture above). We had snacks while we waited for our treatments and talked about writing, social media, and food. It was fantastic.

Even more fantastic was the Ciel Spa. It was very, very clean and very white. So white I was afraid I would spill something. Luckily, someone had the forethought to order the white wine sangria so no worries there.

Not only was the sangria fabulous, but so were the spa snacks.

But the very best part of the day was the mini facial by Sebastian. It was only a half hour, but honestly the most relaxing half hour I’ve had in a long time. We talked about Wonder Woman. That's random I know, but very interesting. I don’t get as much sleep as I should so I often have bags under my eyes. He did something in the facial that made them go away. It was unbelievable.

When time for tea rolled around it turned out I had to leave to get a little work done before I picked up my two kids. But I had been to the Mommy and Me Tea before so missing it was okay.

Relaxing wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. I might have to try it more often.

I was not compensated for this post, but I did get an assortment of snacks, a free facial, and a fantastic day.

Master of the Glass Half Full

2011-09-26T00:10:00.000-07:00

Since I’ve had children I’ve tried to be a glass is half full kind of mom. "Of course we’ll get there on time," I tell my kids. And, "Yes! this day is going to be great!"

When instinctively I’m thinking the opposite. This day will suck and we will be late. Eeyore is lurking inside of me, but I've tried really hard to keep him quiet. You have to keep it positive for the kids, right?

So when I was approached by Latina Mom Bloggers about being a Positivity Ambassador for the California Milk Processor's Board, I thought, Yes! Now I will be positive all the time.

And this guy is going to help me.

He is Simón Felix, El Maestro del Vaso Medio Lleno or Master of the Glass Half Full, and when he's not filling milk glasses he's out spreading the message of Positivity around the world.

And I am ready to listen. Because if there's one thing I'm positive about, it's food. Organic milk and all other dairy products are a staple in Casa de los Condes. Dairy is my kids' main source of protein and milk is one of my younger son's favorite drinks. I get my milk every day in my coffee or latte and in my cereal.

So from now on it's positive all the way. To learn more about El Maestro visit Facebook or follow his journey on Twitter.

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor’s Board and Latina Mom Bloggers

OC Blogger Bash: Gossip Session

2011-09-22T09:47:00.000-07:00

Here is our latest video promoting the OC Blogger Bash. It stars my MomsLA pals Sarah Auerswald, Elise Derby, and I.

In this episode the ladies and I tell you all the dish about The Bash, a fabulous blogger party hosted by the Anaheim Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau that will take place on Oct. 9.

Wordless Wednesday: Pies

2011-09-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

Gluten-Free Tres Leches Pie

Some of the competing pies for the KCRW Good Food Pie Contest

A Tim Burton Inspired Pie - Pretty and it tasted good, too!

The winning pies! Unfortunately my pie was not on the table. Next year!

Jeanne Ponessa Fratello (JollyTomato) and I. She made an incredible Tim Burton inspired pie.

La Llorona

2011-09-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

It was early afternoon and the café we stopped at was nearly empty, but sunny and bright. My 6-year-old picked a table by the window while my 7-year-old and I picked out pan dulce from the pastry case.

Empanadas with dulce de leche, a croissant with ham, cheese, and jalepeno, and delicate wedding cookies. We were eating quietly when my older son asked if I knew the story of the woman who cries.

“La Llorona?” I asked him. I pictured a woman walking on the ocean water with a long, steel knife. But that couldn’t be what he was talking about.

Sometimes I think my son is psychic, that he can read my thoughts. I had just been thinking about the summers I spent as a child at the beach in Sonora, Mexico

All of us kids would stay up late at night and stare at the ocean. We would each tell our own version of La Llorona. Mine involved a woman in white who searched the beaches for kids walking alone. A cousin’s story had her looking for young couples kissing, their last kiss of course. Each story was more terrifying and more specific. We’d go on until we were so scared we ran crying back to our parents.

“What story did you hear?” I asked him. Sure enough he told the story of the woman who drowned her children to be with the man she loved. Then she roamed the streets crying for her children. I didn’t ask if the story he read mentioned La Llorona snatching up kids if they walked away from their parents in the mall like my family told me.

Mainly I was just happy that we were talking about a book from Mexico that was in his classroom. He said he thought of the story because we were sitting in a Mexican bakery.

Who we are and where we come from doesn’t come up very much. We just live our lives. But it was so nice to sit and share a story I grew up hearing while eating food I grew up eating.

OC Blogger Bash: Did You Get Your Invitation?

2011-09-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

This is the video that my MomsLA pals Sarah Auerswald, Elise Derby, and I are in to promote the OC Blogger Bash, The Bash is a fabulous blogger party hosted by the Anaheim Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau that will take place on Oct. 9.

Good Food Pie Contest

2011-09-13T22:50:00.000-07:00

Gluten-free Tres Leches Pie on an almond crust

I have 2 words for you: Free Pie! That’s right, anyone who goes to the The Good Food Pie Contest gets to try samples of the competing pies.

Wait, I started at the end. Let me back up. The Good Food Pie Contest is an annual community event that brings together professional bakers, food bloggers, and home bakers to compete in five different categories; cream (chiffon or mousse), fruit, nut, savory, and new this year, the Time Burton inspired pie.

This year’s contest will be at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. Each pie will be cut and served for the panel of celebrity judges who include Pulitzer Prize winning food writer Jonathon Gold, Food Network personality Aida Mollenkamp, and Chef Jet Lee.

Once they try the pies then it’s your turn. There are more than 200 pies competing this year and you can attempt to try them all.

Last year, I entered 2 pies that were both gluten-free. The first was a mixed berry and cherry pie on an almond crust, pictured on the right. The second was a tres leches pie with a flourless cookie crust. Neither pie won a ribbon unfortunately (but a celebrity chef said she liked my cookie crust).

So this year, I decided to enter just one pie and it’s a combination of the best parts of both of last year’s pies. A tres leches pie on an almond crust with a layer of dulce de leche and a layer of vanilla cream filling. There will be some kind of whipped cream, but I haven’t figured that out yet.

Even if you aren’t entering a pie this year, it sounds like it will be a fun family event. At 12:30 p.m. families can do a pie-inspired art project as part of LACMA's family Sundays. And follow that up by watching an apron fashion show from 2 to 2:30. At 2, the judges will start judging the pies publically and at 3 p.m. the pies will be served.

The pie contest is free, but entry to LACMA’s galleries are not. But if you wear an apron you get free general admission (which doesn’t include the Time Burton exhibit).

If you don’t get enough pie at the contest, check out the Good Food Pie-a-Day blog.

Disneyland: Still Magical

2011-09-09T06:19:00.000-07:00

The boys with their Jedi Academy Diploma

When I was a kid we did the same thing every summer. We got in the car and drove from Tucson across the border to Sonora, Mexico and kept driving through the stifling 100 degree heat until we got to San Carlos. It was hot and dry just like Tucson, but with a beautiful beach and lots of friends and family.

A couple of times, though, we did something different. Something so different that it still seems magical. Instead of driving south, we hopped on the interstate and headed west. I don’t remember how old I was the first time I went to Disneyland, but I can remember the photo that has since been lost, from that trip. My mom is hugging me and you can see the whale’s mouth from Pinnochio in the background.

I’ve been back many times since, but to me it’s just as magical (except for that one time). Sharing Disneyland with my kids has been a much different experience. We don’t drive across the desert to get there. We hop on the freeway and a mere 40 minutes later we’re at our destination.

For them, it’s not a very special thing we do every 5 years. When they were little we had an annual pass. We would go to Disneyland and hang out for an afternoon. Now that they are in school we don’t go as often, which makes it that much more special when we do go.

I think this last visit was just as magical for them as it was for me. We hadn’t gone for a while and the trip was a complete surprise. Thanks to runDisney, I was able to participate in the Disneyland Half Marathon. And thanks to Disneyland, I was able to get passes to take my husband and two boys to the park on Saturday.

Now, spending the day walking around Disneyland wasn’t the smartest thing for me to do the day before a half marathon, but it was great for my family. It was the first time my youngest could go on all the rides and had enough energy to last most of the day.

It was also our first time on the new Star Tours. We love Star Wars so for us it was fantastic. It’s in 3D, which I don’t usually like, but it’s very well done here, and there are 54 variations so the two times we went we had different beginning, middle, and endings. Just watching the boys laugh and hoot and holler made it that much more exciting. If that wasn’t enough, their dreams came true when they were pulled out of the crowd to do the Jedi Training Academy. Even my younger, shyer son battled Darth Vader and both boys were awesome.

I don’t know if Disneyland will hold the same magical place in their childhood as it did for me, but I know they'll have some great memories.

Here are some pictures from the day.

My older son battling Darth Vader

My baby taking on Darth Vader

Gluten-Free burger and sweet potato fries at the Hungry Bear Restaurant (Here's more on gluten-free at Disneyland)

Video with Jeff Galloway

2011-09-07T23:54:00.000-07:00

I had a post on MomsLA today about what a great example a mother who exercises is for her kids. The post came about after I interviewed Jeff Galloway at the Disneyland Half Marathon Expo.

Here's the video from the interview

Disneyland Half Marathon

2011-09-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I completed my first Disneyland Half Marathon. I was invited by runDisney to participate and signed up at the last minute. I was a little worried that I hadn’t trained enough and because of that I would have a terrible race time.

All of those worries seemed silly as I ran past the starting line and saw Mickey and Minnie cheering on the crowd. Taking pictures soon took precedence over anything else. And there were so many pictures to take.

This was my race BFF.

We met coming out of our hotel rooms and soon realized that we were both running alone. This is what I love about races; you make friends in a minute. We ran together until mile 6 and then unfortunately I lost her. Hopefully she remembered my email address.

The first few miles were fantastic. There was so much to see it hardly felt like I was running.

Stopping for a picture

Running into California Adventure

Disneyland's Main Street

Running into Tomorrowland

Frontierland where Winnie the Pooh and Friends posed for pictures

It was great running through the park. There were so many employees out cheering us on. And a lot of the Disney characters including Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh, and a few Princesses.

A folklorico group entertained the runners

Once we got out of the park the sun started beating down on us, but luckily it was not very hot. And there was a lot to see along the way. Folklorico dancers, cheerleading squads, and high school bands were all along the route plus the runners costumes were so much fun.

Near the end of the race I got very competitive. I sprinted the last three miles while I searched for my husband and kids. I didn't see them until after the race, but was very happy to see this!

I took the above picture later. My actual time was 2 hours and 36 minutes. Not bad. Next stop, the Tinkerbell Half Marathon!

Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt

2011-08-31T13:17:00.000-07:00

I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour conducted by Clever Girls on behalf of Dannon. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program but my opinions are my own.

For more information and recipe ideas, visit www.oikosyogurt.com or www.Facebook.com/oikos. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

One of my favorite things to make my kids is smoothies and here's why; they drink them. It's that simple. They don't throw a fit because they actually like them. They don't ask for something else. And they love to help me put the ingredients in the blender.

So when the Clever Girls Collective asked if anyone wanted to review Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt, I jumped on it. Plain yogurt is a main ingredient in our smoothies (and a minor ingredient in a few of the baked goods I make). And I've been buying greek yogurt lately to help cut back on sweets and desserts. I've been trying to bypass ice cream or cookies and have greek yogurt because I find it so filling, rich, and delicious.

But the real test comes from my kids (I eat everything!). I made a fresh fruit smoothie this morning that started with plain Oikos Greek Nonfat Yogurt.

Oikos yogurt in the blender

Then I added fresh cut peaches, frozen banana cubes (one of my favorite new finds from Whole Foods), frozen strawberries, and Whey Protein Powder. I put in the protein powder (also from Whole Foods) in case it's a day that my kids decide they are boycotting protein.

They loved it. For smoothies, I usually use plain, lowfat yogurt, but the greek nonfat yogurt made it so much more like a forbidden treat. It might taste forbidden, but it's still good for you. The yogurt has only 6 grams of sugar. After I made it I realized I probably didn't need the protein powder. The 5.3 ounces of yogurt has 15 grams of protein.

We also tried the nonfat blueberry fruit-on-the-bottom, which we loved, and the nonfat yogurt with honey, which was a little too sweet for our taste. My favorite was the nonfat vanilla.

If you'd like to try Dannon Oikos Yogurt visit Facebook for a coupon.

Here's the Peach Smoothie recipe.

1 5.3 oz. container Oikos Greek Nonfat Yogurt, plain
2 peaches, cut up
1 cup frozen strawberries
Handful of frozen banana chunks or 1 fresh banana
Splash of orange juice
1 scoop of whey protein powder

Add all ingredients to the blender except for the protein powder. Blend until smooth. Blend in protein powder. If it's too thick add more orange juice. Enjoy!

I have partnered with Dannon to help promote the Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt Series. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes writing about the promotion and product. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.

Six Years Old

2011-08-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

Six and a half years ago, I peed on a stick. Five sticks just to be sure. I thought there was no way I could be pregnant because I was nursing a baby. And you can’t get pregnant when you’re nursing a baby.

Well, guess what? You can and I was. I thought back on the previous year and a half and said, No. There was no way I could do it again. I spent months on bedrest with preterm labor for baby number one. Bedrest. Pain. Hospitals. There was no way I could do that while taking care of another baby.

It wasn’t just logistics. I was not happy. Not unhappy or depressed, just not fun, pleasant, or good to be around when I was pregnant. Some women have morning sickness, others retain a lot of water. When I was pregnant I was humorless, stressed, and worn. I looked like a subject in a Dorthea Lange photo.

When I told my family that I was going to have another baby, the majority of the response was, “Oh.”

And the enthusiasm continued throughout my pregnancy. I was put on bedrest. Hated everyone but my 1-year-old. Ate as though I was feeding quintuplets. We even found out we were moving from Berkeley to Los Angeles. Loads of stress.

But then, 10 days after his due date, my baby was born. And what kind of baby is born under these less-than-ideal circumstances? The most wonderful boy. Happy from day one, sweet and lovable.

It may sound like a cliché, but I didn’t think my jaded heart had room for any more love. But really, I had no idea how much love I was capable of. And I was not prepared to fall head over heels in love with my baby.

But 6-years ago today, I did. Happy Birthday, baby!!

Mammoth

2011-08-29T23:57:00.000-07:00

Last week, the family and I went camping at June Lake and Mammoth with my inlaws. I was nervous at first about being offline for that many days (okay, I did check email by phone and used my laptop one day). But other than that there was no technology, just nature and my wonderful family.

We started out our trip at June Lake and took a ride out to the Bodie Ghostown. It was a bustling town in the mid 1800s thanks to the gold rush, and at one point there was a populaton of 15,000. For those 15,000 or so people there were about 50 saloons. And men outnubered women 100 to 1.

Once the gold dried up people started leaving the town until there was nothing but old buildings. (This article in the New York Times talks about the push to start gold mining in Bodie once more.)

After a couple of days we moved our tent trailer over to Mammoth Lakes, which was really pretty. We explored and hiked and, of course, ate too much. Great way to end the summer.

Sears Back to School Party in Hollywood

2011-08-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

Bongo for Sears

It's hard for me to believe that summer will soon be over and it's almost time for my kids to go back to school. But last Sunday I got a taste of what back-to-school will look like. Sears held a fabulous event at the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel to talk about the latest fashions.

Rachel Matos, Yvonne Condes, and Cat Lincoln

I co-hosted the event with the delightful Rachel Matos thanks to the Clever Girls Collective and the amazing Clever, Cat Lincoln. We welcomed about 30 bloggers to the penthouse of the Roosevelt for delicious food and an engaging presentation by Shannelle Armstrong, the director of public relations for Sears Holdings.

Brunch at the Roosevelt

Christina Duffy, Nicole Presley, Ericka Sanchez, Silvia Martinez

Liz Dwyer, Donna Schwartz Mills, Elise Crane Derby, Alexandra Anderson Bower

Shanelle talked about some of the fashions to look forward to this Fall. Preppy is back, which means the jeans are higher and the tops are lower. That all sounds good to me.

Sears Back to School

We also saw some other fashions for mom. I love these shoes, but don't know how many minutes I could wear them before I fell down. My favorite are the booties on the left.

Shoes from the Kardashian Kollection

Shanelle also talked about an interesting program Sears has for kids who are heading off to college in another state. Parents can pick out something, like a bed or bedding, at the local Sears then put it on layaway at the Sears near the college campus. Then your son or daughter can pick it up at a store when they get to school. That way you avoid shipping charges and you can have the whole summer to pay it off. There is a $5 fee with layaway and no finance charges.

After our delightful brunch we explored the penthouse and went up on the roof. Beautiful views of Hollywood to end a lovely day.

This is a sponsored post. I was selected and paid to be a co-host and write about the event by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

CorePower Yoga, CardioBarre, and Jillian Michaels

2011-08-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

Running has been my go-to form of exercise for years. Whether I’m training for a race or just need a little exercise, it’s convenient, fast, and I generally feel good afterwards. But the downside to having your only workout be one where you primarily use just your legs is that the rest of my body suffers.

This came to my attention after looking at several summer pictures of my arms. After untagging myself from pictures on Facebook, I thought I should probably do something about the extra weight on my upper body. It’s not only unsightly, but it’s very unhealthy for women to carry extra weight around their middle.

It was about that time that I got two invitations to try new workout studios in Los Angeles. Plus I bought a workout video at Target called Jillian Michael’s No More Trouble Zones.

The first studio I tried was CorePower Yoga on Granville and Wilshire in West LA. I like Yoga and feel that I should do it more often. I don’t like that I feel like I need to another form of exercise because I didn’t get enough of a cardio workout. Not so with CorePower Yoga. I went to a Hot Power Fusion class where the room was heated. It made the class more challenging and I definitely felt like I was getting a workout. I was sweating buckets and my heart rate was up. Absolutely no need to go for a run before or after. And I felt great.

Next, I tried CardioBarre in Beverly Hills on Robertson. It’s a take on the barre ballet-type workout classes that are so popular right now. I tried a barre class before, but it was like yoga where I felt like I wasn’t getting enough of a workout. This class was barre on steroids. It was fast paced with weights, barre exercises, and a lot of cardio. It was fun and I definitely felt like I got a good workout. Frankly, it kicked my ass.

Both CorePower Yoga and CardioBarre offer a free trial class. It’s worth it to try it out and see which one works best for you.

My favorite workout of all was the one I did in my own home. Another reason I love running so much is the convenience. I can just get up and go. The few times I did Jilian Michael’s video I had planned to go do a class outside in the world, but there was too much work to make the time. Instead I popped No More Trouble zones in the DVD player and got a great workout. The goal is to eliminate “muffin tops, love handles, and wobbly arms for good.” It’s a really tough workout and the week I did it consistantly, I feel toned and strong.

If I did all of these exercises, I would be superfit. But like everything that's good for you, it's all about making the effort. Let's hope I do.

Peanut Butter Flan and a Pie for Mikey

2011-08-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

There are so many things I take for granted. But the most obvious lately is my smart, kind, adorable husband. Even though he’s pissing me off right now, I know that he loves me and our kids more than anything. I know that he means everything to me and I want him to know it, too.

I want him to know that I really do appreciate everything he does for us. That I miss him when we’re not together and that when we are, I love his company. I want him to know that I love him more every day.

The reason I’m focusing about how much I love him and not how much he’s pissing me off (which is my usual MO), is because of a horrible thing that happened last weekend.

The blogger, Jennifer Perillo, whom I met only once and whose blog I follow, became a widow. Her husband of 18-years passed away suddenly of a heart attack. I can’t imagine how much her heart is breaking. Or the sorrow she must feel for her two daughters.

So today, I joined many people across the country to make a Peanut Buttery Pie for Mikey, his favorite dessert.

It’s not really a pie, it’s a flan, because I didn't have the ingredients to make a gluten-free pie crust. Hopefully my dear and wonderful husband will know that I made it just for him and I made it with love.

The Help

2011-08-09T23:43:00.000-07:00

Emma Stone in The Help

I started the book "The Help" on tape during a roadtrip to see my sister in Northern California. We almost made it the entire way without stopping, but my kids needed to go the bathroom. I was so engrossed in the story that I bought the book so I could read it while at my sisters. The book had it's problems - predictable, read like a screenplay - but I couldn't get enough. When my sister complained that I needed to put down the book and go get some exercise, I only went out in the freezing Berkeley air so I could listen to my book on my ipod.

When I heard about the movie, I was not surprised. The book was so clearly meant to be a movie. I didn't have high hopes for it, but I'm happy to say I was so wrong. The cast alone made it worth seeing. Viola Davis, Allison Janney, Sissy Spacek, and Emma Stone and the rest of the amazing women were perfectly cast.

The book and movie are about a Mississippi woman in the 1960s who comes home from college after getting a journalism degree and goes looking for a story. She finds it in her home and the homes of her friends when she begins interviewing the black women who work as their housekeepers. She uncovers secrets, finds romance, and empowers herself and the women around her. If it sounds like a tearjerker, that's because it is. But it's also really funny, well acted, and very entertaining.

Blogher11 - Back at Home

2011-08-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

There were a lot of very cool products on display for bloggers at this year's Blogher11 conference in San Diego last weekend. But I have to say, my favorites were the most practical.

My #1 favorite product was the one I most needed yesterday morning. My older son woke up very sick with a bad cough, wheezing, and runny nose. So thank you to Walgreens for this handy thermometer.

He only had a cold and no fever, which was a big relief and he was much better today. That did not stop me from taking a few Xigo chewable immune defense tablets to fight off any impending cold.

If you'd like to read about products that my MomsLA colleagues and I loved you can read Blogher11 Swag Favorites. Or if you're wondering how our Blogger Bash Happy Hour party went, you can read our post OC Blogger Bash Happy Hour.

The State of Now

2011-08-03T21:51:00.000-07:00

I took my son’s temperature and it was 103. Well, that’s that, I thought. I’m not flying off to New York on a moment’s notice. I’m a mom and I don’t do things like that anymore.

***

This story starts in a bar, like many good stories. I was at an LA mixer in June for the 140 Conference when an announcement went out through the throngs of people. I had won a trip to New York City! And a VIP pass to the 140 Conference, a conference that explores "the state of now!”

When I went up to accept my prize, Jeff Pulver, the conference organizer and cult figure, asked me an important question. “Can you go?” The conference was in 2 weeks. I then uttered words I never in my life thought I would, “I need to ask my husband.”

I called my husband who was home with our kids, if he was a) going to be in town that week, b) if he could pick up and take our kids to school, and c) if he could manage to feed, clothe, and nurture our boys for several days. He said an enthusiastic, “Yes! You should do it.”

Right after my ticket to New York was booked, my husband called and said that he had to go to a conference in San Diego that overlapped with my trip, but not to worry because he would be back in time to pick up our kids from school. We live in Los Angeles and it can take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to get from San Diego to Los Angeles.

I panicked, and frantically called my support network of friends and told them that there was a small chance that they would need to spring into action. I asked for their help. They said, yes, of course.

My airline tickets and hotel were booked and it was happening. A spontaneous trip to New York. I couldn’t believe it. I was actually living “in the state of now.”

And then I picked my son up from school the day before I was supposed to go. He was hot and cranky, but he seemed fine. As the night progressed, he got sicker and sicker. The state of Now was now sucking.

His fever went from 100 to 103. I gave him Motrin, then Tylenol. A cool bath. He seemed better by the time he went to sleep.

This scenario isn’t one I don’t deal with all the time. Between school, friends, and each other, my kids have been exposed to all kinds of illnesses. I spent the first couple of years of their lives home with them being sick or injured.

But this was different. I would be leaving my sick child. What kind of a mother leaves a sick child to travel across the country?

A mother who works, my husband said, calling me on my drama. I did win the trip, but it was a conference that would be great networking and I’d be working at the same time. “Call the babysitter,” he said from his conference.

Babysitter? I’m so used to handling everything in-house that it never occurred to me to call her. I texted her at 11 p.m. and asked if she could care for my sick child. “Yes, not a problem.”

So I started packing at 11:30 p.m. and wrote a detailed list of everything she needed to do.

The next morning I went to New York. And do you know what happened at home after I left? Nothing. My son didn’t get sicker, he got better. My babysitter was great and so was my husband when he got back from San Diego.

Everything was fine. Maybe this is my new state of now.

The Aftermath of the Whole Foods 28-day Challenge

2011-08-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

Salmon over mixed greens

A big focus of my life and my blog for more than a month was the Whole Foods 28-Day Challenge. For those 28 days, I went without meat, dairy, oil, and refined sugar. Except for a few small lapses, I was true to the diet.

It was incredible at first. I lost three pounds in the first week. I felt better, leaner, and I stopped craving sugar. On the downside, I was tired. Not I-have-2-boys-and-don’t-get-enough-sleep tired, but exhausted tired. I would start nodding off at 9 p.m. instead of my usual 11. On days I exercised, it would start falling asleep at 8.

Once the diet was over, I had decided I would work oil, fish, and eggs back into my diet. I wanted to keep up with most of the dietary guidelines and slowly add just a few foods. One thing I promised myself was to not jump feet first off the vegan wagon. A strange turn of events landed me in New York the week after I ended the diet and not only did I jump off the wagon I jumped into a vat of beef.

I went crazy. I started out saying I would be vegetarian instead of vegan so I could have a grilled cheese with roasted tomato mayo from the 48 Lounge. I would show you a picture, but I ate it too fast!

Country Pate at Gramercy Tavern

It went downhill from there. My friend and I went to the Gramercy Tavern and ordered a dinner of meat. Really. Other than the hint of greens, our meal was all meat. And it was fantastic. We had sweetbreads, pate, a fish cake, and the world's richest meatballs.

Sweetbreads at Gramercy Tavern

This lapse into carnivorism, didn't wreak havoc on my stomach like I imagined it would. I actually felt great. That's probably because I wasn't eating enough protein during my vegan diet, not because I was a vegan.

The rest of June and most of July was not great nutritionally. The part where I felt great after eating meat only lasted a few days. Then I felt like I did before the diet, a little bloated, a little thirsty (amazing how you your tolerance for sodium changes when you eat out less and have less processed food). And the three pounds I lost? They're back.

I think I really need to go back and embrace the idea of the diet. I need to cook more at home. Go out less. Don't cover meat with cheese and potato as seen in the picture below. And really think about what I'm eating.

What I think I need to do is make parts of the 28-Day Challenge a lifelong challenge.

Meatballs with Fontina and Potato Puree

Soar With Reading

2011-07-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

View from the Brooklyn Bridge

The idea of going from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. to New York with my 5 and 7-year-old boys last month worried me. Would they freak out on the plane if there was too much turbulence (and by they, I mean me)? Was it really as easy a drive from Maryland to D.C. as my husband said? Would they be okay with the trip on the train from D.C. to New York?

After all of that worrying, everything went really well. I somewhat held it together on the plane and my kids loved all of the running around from place to place. One thing that helped the travel run smoothly was their backpacks. They were filled with books, snacks, and a few toys.

There was no time to fuss or complain because they had so much to occupy themselves. JetBlue and PBS also see the value in keeping kids occupied. They are having a summer program where children who fly on JetBlue get an activity kit that includes a book. My kids received one (after our trip) and they loved it (theirs came with a Magic Treehouse book and they love Magic Treehouse).

JetBlue is also holding a contest to allow people to nominate their favorite library to win $10,000 of books from Random House. You can find the contest at the joint venture of JetBlue and PBSKids called Soar With Reading. Parents can create a summer reading list and track how many minutes the kids are reading.

We're halfway through the summer now and our next trip will be a camping one. Until then, we'll be creating our reading list and hitting the library.

Maya Independent Film Series Giveaway

2011-07-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

So excited about this. I don’t do a lot of giveaways, but I couldn’t pass this up. One thing that bothers me about television and film is that so often when you see a Latino character they are a sidekick or a stereotype.

But that is not the case with films at the Maya Indie Film Series. Maya Entertainment makes culturally diverse independent films. It’s holding a film festival featuring some amazing Latino actors, writers, and directors.

I’m going to see “Without Men” starring Eva Longoria and I’m hoping to make it to “All She Can,” about a girl from Texas trying to earn a college scholarship through Powerlifting. It was an official selection at 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Other films include “Forged “ and “Sympathy for Delicious” with Mark Ruffalo and Juliette Lewis, two of my favorite actors.

The Film Series is running now through Aug. 4. I’m giving away 2 tickets to the LA film series for showings on Aug. 3 and 4. All you need to do to win is live in Los Angeles and leave a comment here with your contact information before noon Sunday. I'll announce the winner Sunday evening. You also need to be able to make it one of these screenings at the Laemmle Sunset 5.

Congratulations, Maria! You're the winner!

Where Does Mommy Go?

2011-07-21T00:06:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite people drew these pictures for the book, "Where Does Mommy Go." The book is an adorable explanation of all the amazing things moms do when they're working.

"Does she climb aboard a rocket ship and fly to outer space?
Does she juggle, joke, and laugh with lots of makeup on her face."

It's a really sweet story and one that I had initially thought would be good for only girls. I had my older son read it tonight and he really loved it, especially Astro Mom and Boxing Mom.

The story reminded me of the book he made about his life for his 1st grade class. In it, he describes what my husband and I do. He drew a sweet picture of me sitting at a computer.

I love that the book embraces all that moms are capable of. It's a great gift for boys or girls who wonder "Where Does Mommy Go."

Winnie the Pooh

2011-07-14T00:13:00.000-07:00

I was so worried that my boys would refuse to go with me on Saturday that I didn’t tell them what we were doing. We were invited to see Winnie the Pooh at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood followed by a talk with the film’s animators.

We had to be there very early because it wasn’t the only screening that day. I woke my boys, fed and dressed them, and off we went. They were a little groggy, but once they saw the theater they were very excited.

That happiness was crushed when I explained that it wasn't Cars 2 we were seeing but the classic and lovable Winnie the Pooh. At 5 and 7-years-old they feel they're too old for Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Owl, Kanga and Roo. I tried to convince them that deep down they love Pooh and I knew because one of their favorite movies as toddlers was the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. I used to put it on to calm them down if they were fussy or fighting with each other.

Well, they did need calming down after they had juice and popcorn and Winnie the Pooh did the trick. Once they saw him wake up in his little house, they were hooked. The new Winnie the Pooh that opens on Friday is every bit as delightful as the original. It features different stories and a soundtrack with songs by Zooey Deschanel.

The movie was sweet and funny and very entertaining. But the best part for me was after the movie when the animators drew the characters and then played a partially animated clip.

Speaking of clip. Here is one from the movie:

My On-Again Off-Again Love Affair with Ann Taylor

2011-07-08T14:58:00.000-07:00

The very first sophisticated dress I remember wearing was from Ann Taylor. I borrowed it from a friend for a date to see Les Miserables when the show traveled to Tucson.

The dress was a checkered, black and white shift dress. It was short and it was perfect. I was 19 and I remember thinking, when I am a reporter all of my clothes will be from Ann Taylor.

Well, with students loans, rent, and a job at a small paper in Southern Illinois there was no wardrobe from Ann Taylor. But there were a few select pieces that I saved up for and treasured. I still have one that I swear is going to come back in style.

But over the years I lost my love of Ann Taylor. It was too structured and too similar. I felt that the styles didn’t change much over the years while my style had become more casual.

Well, my opinion changed after seeing the new line of clothes and jewelry at a party celebrating the opening of the first Los Angeles Ann Taylor Concept store. I loved all of the color in the clothes and jewelry. But almost as much, I loved the fabulous party that I attended with Sarah Auerswald, Eva Smith (Tech.Food.Life), and Shelby Barone (Glitterful Felt Stories) in Costa Mesa last month.

Here are some of my favorite pieces. I love the colorful dress second to the left and the gray one on the far right.

Ann Taylor has opened up 6 concept stores, including Costa Mesa, in an effort to reinvent the brand. The clothes look a little hipper to me and from what I've read about the stores, they are, too.

Eat Real Festival and Patch.com

2011-07-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

I've had a little hiatus from this blog recently, but I've had a few articles posted in other places.

I wrote a preview of the Eat Real Festival in Culver City on July 16 and 17 for CBS Los Angeles. The Eat Real Festival is free and everything is $5. I'm most interested in the demonstrations where artisinal food makers will show the crowd how to make bacon, hot fudge, and cheese. Gustavo Arellano will moderate a food panel and Evan Kleiman, Good Good host and restaurant owner, will teach people how to make tomato sauce.

My freelance gigs aren't all about food. I also wrote about LA libraries staying open longer, and an armed robbery at the mall for Westwood Century City Patch.com

Look Out, Here We Come

2011-06-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

We walked into the gym like we walk into most places, making a spectacle of ourselves. My 3-year-old ran from the elevator, tripped and slid head first into the glass door sending a loud bang through the front entrance. Everyone turned as he jumped up and shouted, “I’m okay, mom.”

He was fine, but I looked incredibly insensitive as I burst out laughing. The guy at the front desk asked if he was okay. He looked concerned as he scanned my son’s face. A scab ran down from his nose to his chin where he’d careened face-first down a steep driveway the week before. His lip makes him look like a pro boxer thanks to the 14 stitches he endured after a fall from his little red wagon when he was 2. I stopped laughing.

I started thinking about the question I’ve asked myself more than once. How many times can you take your kid to the ER before they don’t let him come home with you? In his 3 ½ years, my little guy has been transported by ambulance twice, and been to the ER five times.

One night a year ago, I kept telling myself I should just turn on the TV so my boys would stop running around for 20 minutes or so, but I talked myself out of it. Two minutes later, the little one fell into the countertop and blood shot out from above his eye. Emergency room here we come.

And it’s not just accidents, there’s also random illnesses. He had a febrile seizure, which is a seizure kids get when their fever spikes too high too quickly. Weeks after that, he wasn’t feeling well and suddenly dark spots that looked like bruises appeared all over his legs, and one on his thigh swelled up before our eyes and I swear to God I thought he had Ebola. It turns out it was Henoch-Schonlein Purpura, HSP, which has no long term effects but, like the seizure, is really scary when it happens. For a month, he would cry every afternoon because the swelling in his legs hurt so much.

Don’t get me started on my 5-year-old. He was hospitalized as a baby, had respiratory problems until he was 4, was almost toppled by a falling tree branch, and was attacked by a peacock at the zoo. WTF???

I worry that my doufusness has somehow traveled through my DNA and infected my children. I’m sure they get it from me. In life, I’ve always pictured myself like Chevy Chase when he would do Gerald Ford. I once fell doing a trail run on the eve of my best friend’s wedding and had to go up in front of the church in my short, sleeveless dress showing off my bloody arms and legs.

I’ll never forget what the bride told me; “People like us shouldn’t move quickly.” Or at all.

This post first appeared in LA Moms Blog on April 4, 2009 on Los Angeles Moms Blog.

Help A Mother Out Video

2011-06-27T07:01:00.000-07:00

I've been really touched and amazed by the good work that Help A Mother Out is doing. The non profit collects diapers for mothers who can't afford them. Kim Tracy Prince and I decided to make a trip to PATH Achieve of Glendale to find out who HAMO is helping.

Cars 2 Review

2011-06-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

Here’s what I want from a kid’s movie. I want my kids and I to be entertained, I want them to be enlightened in some way, and I definitely don’t want sarcastic, mean spirited characters.

Cars 2 is, quite honestly, fantastic. Not only does it have all of the things I look for, but it has cool car chases, secret agents, a strong female character, and enough action to make a James Bond movie look boring.

It starts back in Radiator Springs where Lightening McQueen has come home to relax and spend time with friends. Soon he’s whisked off to a race in Tokyo where he has a falling out with best buddy Tow Mater. It then turns into a spy movie that leads the gang from Tokyo to Paris to London.

Not only is there action and laughs, there’s a nice thread of acceptance. Lightening must accept his friend for who he is. And of course I loved the storyline about green energy and conspiracy theories (don’t want to give away too much).

My boys liked it even more than I did and we were not big fans of the first Cars movie. When I asked them what they thought of it, they both gave me two thumbs up. Here's the trailer (with the Gnarls Barkley song Run, one of my personal favorites.)

The Muppets

2011-06-23T11:16:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how excited I am for The Muppets to come to theaters over Thanksgiving. We have the old Muppet Show on DVD and I think it's just as fantastic as it was when it originally aired. Unfortunately, my kids don't really get it. But, if the movie lives up to this trailer, I think they will finally understand my love of the Muppets.

Harry & David Mangoes and Gluten-Free Mango Banana Bread

2011-06-21T09:43:00.000-07:00

Mangoes, mangoes, mangoes. That’s what Gustavo Arellano said recently when talking about what to get from fruit vendors right now. Mangoes are in season and in abundance.

I’ve been thinking about that lately and mangoes were a huge part of my Whole Foods 28-Day Challenge, which was no meat, dairy, oil or refined sugar. I love sugar and needed to compensate with sweet and delicious fruit. I made smoothies with mango (don’t over mix in the blender. The mango becomes gelatinous), salsa with lime and mango, and Gluten-Free Mango Banana Bread.

For weeks I had been buying a mango every couple of days, but then Harry & David provided the motherload of mangoes. It was the third installment of the organic Fruit of The Month Club and for June the fruit was mangoes.

The first month was avocados, the second strawberries, and the last month of my free trial was the mangoes. The avocados and strawberries tasted fantastic (although I thought there weren’t enough strawberries for the packaging and the price). So I was eager to try the mangoes.

Half of the six packaged mangoes were ripe so I made a smoothie with strawberries, banana, mango, and coconut milk. Fabulous and my kids loved it.

With the other two I came up with this gluten-free banana mango bread recipe. Not sugar free for sure, but it was a big hit with the family.

Gluten-Fee Mango Banana Bread

½ cup butter or vegan butter

1 ¼ cup brown sugar

3 eggs

2 ¾ cup gluten-free flour (King Arthur Gluten-Free Multipurpose flour or see below*)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons xantham gum

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

3 ripe bananas

2 mangoes

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13 x 9 inch pan with canola oil spray.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, xantham gum, cinnamon, and nutmeg and set aside. In a medium bowl, mix mango and banana with a hand mixer until smooth. Do not overmix. In a large bowl using a mixer or using a hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla, flour mixture, and the mango/banana puree and mix until combined.

Spread evenly into prepared pan. Cook about 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

*Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix with Brown Rice Flour

6 cups brown rice flour
2 cups potato starch
1 cup tapioca flour

Store leftover flour in an airtight container.

I was not compensated for this post, but I was given a free 3-month trial of the Harry & David Fruit of the Month Club.

Ann Curry at the 140 Conference

2011-06-17T10:13:00.000-07:00

I've been out of touch on the blog for the last couple of days, but I've been all over Twitter. I went to the 140 Conference in New York and had a fantastic time. I'll write more about it later, but wanted to share this video I took of Ann Curry from the Today Show. She spoke at the conference and was absolutely fabulous. Very smart and engaging and an amazing speaker. Other than the tap tap of people tweeting, the room was silent while she spoke. She was very kind and allowed me to do this little interview with her.

Whole Foods 28-Day Challenge: It's Day 28!!!

2011-06-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

Lentils with curry, spinach, and coconut milk

It’s almost over!!! Just a few more hours!!! I’m in the home stretch of the Whole Foods 28-Day Challenge. I’ve gone 28 days without meat, dairy, oil, or refined sugar (except for a few bites here and there).

Here’s what I’ve learned about being a vegan:

1) It’s not so bad. There are a lot of delicious plant based foods

2) I don’t need to follow every meal with dessert. Giving up sugar wasn’t as difficult as I thought

3) It’s exhausting – There is a lot of preparation that goes into making all of your meals.

4) It’s not for me

I think I can easily become a vegetarian, but vegan is too much. I love cheese and yogurt. Come to think of it, I love fish and carnitas and eggs, too. So maybe I’ll just become someone who eats a lot of vegetables.

One of the things I really embraced about the diet was experimenting with food. I made lentils with curry and coconut milk, cookies with no sugar, and chocolate pudding with avocado and date paste. I would not have tried and liked these recipes without the challenge.

But the main thing I learned from this diet is that I can go days without sugar. I don’t need to eat a piece of salted chocolate after a long run. My low sugar, all natural sports drink is enough.

I kept joking that I’m going to eat a donut on day 29, but I think I’m going to stick to parts of the diet for a while including no sugar (or very little), and no dairy for as long as I can stand it.

It was a long 28 days, but it was worth it.

Whole Foods 28-Day Challenge: Vegan Frijoles de la Olla

2011-06-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

Pinto beans, rinsed and sorted

There are a few recipes that I’m known for and serve often at Casa de los Condes. Green chile chilaquiles, gluten-free mixed berry pie with dark sweet cherries, and pinto beans cooked with bacon.

My beans are my mom’s recipe and it's one of my favorites. The pinto beans are soaked overnight and cooked the next morning with bacon and bay leaves. After they simmer on the stove all day, she puts in garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, cheese and a chili powder I can’t find anywhere outside of Arizona. (The ingredients are chili and natural spices and flavor. God knows what’s really in it, but it sure tastes good!)

Part of the challenge of the Whole Foods 28 Day Challenge is cooking without meat and dairy so there goes the bacon and cheese. Beans without bacon and cheese?? Why even make them??

Because I was starving, that’s why. I hadn’t been eating enough protein and needed something that I could go to all week long if I needed something quick. Last Sunday I tried making a vegan version of Frijoles de la Olla. I combined recipes I found in Rick Bayless’s Mexican Everyday and in Marcela Valladolid’s Fresh Mexico.

Rick Bayless had directions for making beans in the slow cooker without soaking them first. He writes that soaking them doesn’t help much with digestion and you end up throwing away the flavorful soaking water. I had never gone without soaking beans, but thought it was worth a try. Chef Marcela had a recipe that called for garlic, onion and bay leaves.

Here is the combined recipe and it turned out amazing. Really tender and flavorful beans that I think are just as good as the bacon and cheese version.

Frijoles De La Olla

1 pound pinto beans

4 garlic cloves

½ a large white onion, chopped

2 bay leaves

Salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and oregano to taste

Rinse and sort beans. Bring the beans and 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, chop the onion and mash the garlic. Put the onion, garlic and bay leaves in the slow cooker. Once the beans are boiling, pour the beans and water into the slow cooker with the onion, garlic, and bay leaves. Cook for six hours or until beans are tender. Add the salt, pepper, and spices to taste.

The beans will be more of a bean soup the first day. By the second day, they should be thick enough to use in a tortilla, taco or as a side dish.

Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa with MomsLA

2011-06-10T15:47:00.000-07:00

My younger son has been asking to go to the pool since Christmas. Finally, last Sunday he got his wish. My boys and I joined joined our MomsLA pals at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa and spent the day lounging around the Slyders Pool Playground. The weather could not have been better or the grounds lovelier.

The group of us were treated to lunch and drinks by the pool. All of it was great and I even found a salad that went well with my vegan diet.

It was hard to get my kids off of the water slides and out of the pool, but the minute I said "smores" they came running. Hyatt offers the smores kits pictured above that come with marshmallows, chocolate, graham crackers and sticks.

We roasted them over the fire pit and I'm happy to report only a few caught on fire. My kids can't wait to go back and enjoy the pool. We may do a little Staycation there later in the summer so we can try out the Camp Hyatt where kids can go spend the day while moms relax.

Speaking of moms. We noticed that blue is a popular choice this season for toe nail polish.

The toes of Sarah Auerswald, Angry Julie Monday, Momfluential, and Me

LA Monarca Bakery

2011-06-08T03:47:00.000-07:00

Conchas from La Monarca Bakery

It’s been my dream for years to open up a Mexican bakery. It would be filled with light and beautiful pastries. And it would be inspired by the breads I lived on the summer I spent in Guadalajara.

I wasn’t the only one with this dream. Santa Monica is now home to its first Mexican bakery, La Monarca. It’s full of light and beautiful pastries and it’s better than I could have imagined.

My blogger friend, Maria, and I were guests of La Monarca for a tasting of the natural products crafted by owner Ricardo Cervantes and his business partner, Alfredo Livas. None of the pastries are fried and they have 1/3 of the sugar than those from other bakeries, Cervantes said.

La Monarca Bakery co-owner Ricardo Cervantes

This tasting was right in the middle of my Whole Foods 28-day Challenge where I go without meat, dairy, oil, and refined sugar. Going without sugar is the most challenging part of the challenge for me. I was cheating a bit (I was working), but I didn't feel like I was eating too much sugar, which is what I love about the pastries there.

Selection of pastries at La Monarca

The conchas, a pan dulce with a sugared shell topping, were light and airy with a slightly sweet flavor. And I also appreciated how moist and delicious the corn bread was. Made with real corn, not cornmeal, it tasted very fresh and delicious.

We also tried soy chorizo that I would never have known wasn’t the real thing and went nicely with my month-long diet. My favorite was the mollette, one of my all time comfort foods made with soft bread, beans, and cheese. And the shredded pork was very good as well.

Shredded pork

The bakery, which has locations in Huntington Park and City of Commerce, was named after the Monarch Butterfly. The inspiration is so great that LA Monarca is donating 20 percent of cake sales through June to the Ecolife Foundation and its Monarch Butterfly program that protects butterfly habitat in Central Mexico.

There's even more reason to visit this delightful spot. Between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. daily anyone who orders a coffee gets a free pastry. I would recommend the Cafe de Olla and a chocolate croissant.

Croissants from the window at La Monarca

I was not compensated for this post, but I did get to try delicious pastries.

Whole Foods 28 Challenge: Whoops!

2011-06-06T23:57:00.000-07:00

I’ve been very serious about the Whole Foods 28-Day Challenge up until this past weekend. No meat, dairy, oil or refined sugar. But, really? I don’t think the people who designed this diet had ever had peanut butter crème brulee from Upper West in Santa Monica . Let me say that again Peanut Butter Crème Brulee. It was only a few bites, but it was still cheating. I felt bad and had a bit of a stomach ache later that night.

I cheated again when I made gluten-free cornmeal pancakes from the New York Times. The recipe called for milk, but I used coconut milk, which was delightful. My diet says no oil but I felt bad torturing my husband who already has Celiac Disease, with dry pancakes. So I added canola oil. And then I cooked the pancakes in butter. Bad, I know, but so good.

The not having sugar part of the diet is good and bad. Good because I've cut down on sugar tremendously, but bad because I'm constantly looking for sugar substitutes like this date paste.

Date paste can be used to sweeten muffins and candy or as a substitute for honey or jelly on a peanut butter sandwich.

Date paste is very simple to make. You just toss a cup of fresh, pitted Medjool dates in a food processor along with 1/4 cup of water and mix until the paste is smooth. If you want it to be thinnner, add more water. After it's done, store in the refrigerator where it can last a little more than a week.

Whole Foods 28-Day Challenge: Being Vegan is Better With Friends

2011-06-01T17:35:00.000-07:00

Vegan pizza at Fresh Brothers in Beverly Hills

I’m just beyond the halfway point of the Whole Foods 28-day challenge. I was worried about this past weekend and if I would be able to keep up with the diet. A Memorial Day Weekend with no meat, dairy, oil, or refined sugar sounded really difficult.

But it wasn’t hard, in fact it was fabulous. Went to see friends on Friday and was treated to a wheat berry salad with fresh figs and mushrooms. My friend Christina, who is doing the challenge with me, made soup with garlic, onions, beans, zuchinni, and tomatoes. It was amazing.

Even more amazing was the trouble friend and MomsLA contributor Debbie (Manhattan Beach Momma), of Fresh Brothers Pizza went to for the blogger party at Fresh Brother’s new location. She made a vegan pizza for Sarah Auerswald and I with half no cheese and half Daiya cheese (some people like the gluten-free, dairy-free cheese, but I’m not one of them). My half was really good.

And not only that, but Debbie made a gluten-free pizza for my husband. Fresh Brothers has the best gluten-free pizza I’ve tasted.

My kids were happy because although they don’t have dietary restrictions, they are really picky. They got to make cheese pizzas with no sauce.

And decorate their own very-special-cupcakes. These were not vegan and definitely not sugar-free, but they were nice to look at.

Judy Moody Giveaway

2011-05-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

So excited about this giveaway. MomsLA is hosting a group of parents and kids to see the movie Judy Moody next week in Hollywood. I’m giving away 2 sets of tickets. One that includes 3 tickets and one that includes 2. To enter just leave a comment by 5 p.m. Friday with how many tickets you need. I’ll notify the winner Friday night.

You must live in Los Angeles and be able to provide your own transportation to and from the event, which is -

Wednesday, June 8

4:00 PM “Mega-cool” Cookie Party

4:30 PM Screening, winners will be notified with the location (in Hollywood).

Here is a synopsis of the movie:

When her best-laid plans for a summer full of fun go comically awry, an imaginative young girl creates her own vacation adventures in Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer. Based on the beloved, bestselling book series by Megan McDonald, Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer is an irresistible and delightfully funny treat for adventure-loving kids and adults.

This summer, third grader Judy Moody is planning the most super-duper, double-rare summer vacation ever with best friends Rocky and Amy. Except that it turns out Rocky is going to circus camp to learn to tame lions, and Amy is headed off to Borneo with her mom to save a lost tribe while Judy stays home with her pesky little brother Stink and second-best friend Frank Pearl.

Just when she thinks things are as rotten as they can be, her parents announce that they will be going to California and Judy will have to stay behind with her Aunt Opal, who she’s never even met! It looks like Judy’s best summer ever has just become her way worst summer ever.

But feisty, fearless and ever-funny Judy Moody never gives up! With help from some unexpected sources, she’s headed for a summer full of surprises in this charming and spirited family film. Get ready, get set, get MOODY!

MomsLA was compensated to run this post.