7 six years old and a zoo..need I say more???

Hey sorry I have not blogged in awhile but what a week!!! Ephraim came down with a crazy virus on Sunday and was laid up in bed for two days.  Meanwhile I was managing work, homework, housework...(need I say more???)  Had a wonderful dinner at Mabat steakhouse with Devora and Dovid.  Poor Ephraim was already feverish and came out to celebrate my birthday.  While all of us were broiling under the steam, Ephraim was huddled in his coat and asking all the diners to please come in and shut the door quickly to avoid a draft!!! First time, I ever found myself hotter than Ephraim.  He is usually the one that blasts the a/c in the car so high that my lenses stick to my eyes!!

Have not had time to try any recipes this week, but did make a delicious sweet chicken wings for shabbos.  I hope to get back into the recipes next week. 

Yesterday I took a zumba class with Leah Forster. Boy was that fun!!! I had a great workout and was entertained too.  Thanks Shaindy for being my workout partner. 

So today was a really full day....first I went to the zoo. Only FOUR mothers volunteered from Gavriel's class (the other first grade had EIGHT mothers!!!) so we each ended up with 7 boys.  I could not enjoy the zoo at all as I spent the entire time head counting and shouting "FREEZE wait for me!!"  This sounds terrible to say, but all those mothers should give their kids an extra kiss tonight as it was a real challenge to keep track of all them. I am posting two pics of the zoo...the kids at least had a great time!!!

Did I forget to tell you about the text I received while in the zoo? It was from Rabbi Sherman, Yehuda's Rebbe.  Mrs. Lehrer it said- Yehuda needs a change of clothes as he has had a slight mishap. I was fearing the worst- an accident perhaps, and then I read the rest of the text...it appears that a boy THREW UP on him- YUCK!!!.  So after the zoo, i ran home to get him a change of clothes and then met a few friends for a quick lunch before heading into Williamsburg to work.  After work, I got home and discovered that both my laptop and desktop decided to DIE at the same time.  Now for those of u that know what I do, you know that my computer is my lifeline!! and without it I cannot complete my work.  B'H for parents as my mother lent me her laptop for the next few days until I can buy a new laptop or fix my old one.  Gonna sign off now as I am getting tired...my iced mocha latte is beginning to wear off!!  Want to leave u with one picture of Yehuda climbing the walls tonight after finishing all his homework and studying for his "farher" with the principal.

Until next time...........

Samantha:)

wow... I think I am actually following through on a plan!

Hey, sorry I did not post yesterday but I came down with fever and chills so I spent most of the afternoon and evening in bed. Yesterday was a pretty productive day for me until I got sick.  I worked in the morning and then picked up my mother in law and we went for lunch at Spoons and to exchange a jewelry piece for her by Bellisimo.  I must tell you that the food was good by Spoons, but my favorite part was the using the bathroom. It is stunning!! The back wall is made up of the most unusual tile and the whole room is sooo sharp!!  After I got home, I started on my next recipe which was a whole wheat cheese loaf. My first attempt at the dough was a flop and did not rise (see photo below).

My second attempt at the dough fared much better.....

The only problem I had was that the color of the dough is much darker than the picture. Does anyone know if regular whole wheat flour is the same as 70% whole wheat pastry flour?  I rolled out the dough, placed the cheese mixture inside and then braided it and baked.  It tasted yum!! (but if you are not a fan of whole wheat you may not go for the outside of the cheese loaf.)

Anyhow, this recipe yielded two loaves and I froze one for shalosh seudos and one I have been snacking on.  My dear neighbors come on by and taste!!!

Well I took off work today and spent the day at home.  After dropping the kids off at school, I came home and got a wonderful mevaker cholim visit from my friend Deena. She brought me a cup of hot cocoa and stayed for a couple of hours to chat and keep me company.  I hope I don't get too used to this life of little work and lots of play.  Ephraim came home for lunch and made me a noodle soup- its the best!!! Thanks Ephraim.  So if I feel up to it the next recipes I want to tackle is sandwich maker brownies and sweet and sour chicken wings.  I will keep u posted on the progress.  Anyhow, gonna go finish up some work and take a quick nap before the kids come home.  Until next time....

Its time to stop procrastinating!

Well this is my first attempt at a blog and the reason I decided to give it a try is that I feel that I have all these plans in my head but keep pushing them off.  I have the typical ones such as start working out each day, eating healthy, having a more positive attitude, start saving more money etc.  But I also have other plans...plans that are not too much effort to implement but need motivation.  I have a large loose leaf with recipes I have collected over the years and always plan to make.  But out of the 200+ recipes I have collected I have only made a handful.  Today this will change! I will attempt to make one recipe a day until I go through the entire collection.  Today I started with a challa recipe that I got from a dear friend Miriam.  Of course, I played around with the recipe as I did not have any fresh yeast, so I substituted dry yeast. I ran out of sugar and so instead of 2 cups sugar, I went with 1 1/2 c sugar and 1/2 c. of Splenda.  I also used all purpose flour instead of high gluten flour.  Hey no one said I can't play around with the recipe!  It did not rise well, but after leaving it in the oven on 200 degrees it actually looks pretty good. If I can figure out how to attach a photo, I will post a picture of the challas.  Will have to wait for the weekend though to tell you how it tastes.  The other plan that has been in the back of my mind is with regard to work.  I LOVE what I do...I love being a physical therapist and helping people. I recently started supervising a new therapist and realized that I love teaching and advising.   So...I am playing with the idea of increasing my supervision hours at different locations or maybe starting to teach mini PT topics at different centers. Now just got a figure out a way to implement it all....


Well not sure if I am gonna blog daily or every few days, guess I will just feel it out. Had a wonderful morning today. Took a quick walk around the neighborhood before dropping the baby off at playgroup.  My friend then came over for a couple of hours and it was sooo nice to hang out and just chat. The hubby came home for lunch and we spent a few minutes chatting about our day.  Now its time to get back to work.  Until next time..........


P.S. Think I figured out how to upload a picture so here is my challas.... If u want me to post the recipe, let me know.