I Heart Saturday AND.....avila beach

soon I will be running along this beach....

staying at this cute mex-boutique hotel....

sitting on this bed with my laptop...

watching this news channel...

and hopefully getting lots of work done so that I can enjoy these guys the rest of the week...

the big One Six

We surprised him! He loved it.
I dig my 16 year old....

Yes, this was back in January,
but never got to posting the
pictures.

Thought I better before I put more of Matt's birthday.

See, the kids have me running in circles in life AND on my blog

my middle guy is 11 today!

I have an awesome 11 year old boy. Can't we all be middle children?

I think I would have more friends.

Something extra sweet about his temperment.

We call him the "simple man"

Most birthdays he chooses a day at Knott's that always ends in Boysenberry Pie.

This year...

he simply asked to see the snow.

We got nervous about the wind and possible need for chains.

We owe him a day.


Last week we took a pre-birthday trip - just the two of us.

I took him to Fresno with me for work.

Not quite Disneyland with mom but we sure had a great time.

He got a new DS game, a great lunch and Starbucks 2 times!

We had lots and lots of laughs and listened to Hobbit on CD and some great music.



12 hours alone with one of your kids is a wonderful gift.

Happy Birthday Matt!

I.O.U. a SNOW DAY!!

highway 99

sure signs....

that you are...

on...

highway 99

I Heart Saturday AND....ratatouille

We love the movie Ratatouille!

Matt has been bugging me to make it for months!

We found the real recipe used in the movie, a Thomas Keller recipe, and went for it! It was so yummy. Crazy good flavors.

I think the kids were all disappointed that it was literally ALL vegies.

but fun to assemble and they ate it anyway ;)

I Heart Saturday AND......bria's cooking club

This girl loves to work in the kitchen. But, more than that, she really loves being with friends.

She has been reading a book series from the library about a 3rd grade girl that has a cooking club. We had our first club meeting today and since it was Valentine weekend, we made lovely cake balls.

The recipe we used was from Bakerella

We made them with white chocolate and added pink and red heart sprinkles.

It was fun and the girls cannot wait until the next one!

oil temps

How did other generations of mothers know things without Yahoo?

The higher an oil’s smoke point, the higher the temperature the oil can withstand. As a result, each type of oil should be used for the cooking method that is most appropriate to its individual smoke point and heat tolerance. Here is a quick guide for the next time you reach for your favorite oil.

Heat During Cooking	Oil	Best Use
No-Heat	Flaxseed	Salads
Low to Moderate	Coconut	Baking (low heat) Light Sautéing Pressure Cooking Salads
	Corn
	Olive
	Peanut
	Sesame
	Walnut
Medium Heat	Macadamia Nut	Baking (medium heat) Sautéing Stir-Fry
	Safflower
	Canola
High Heat	Avocado	Deep Browning Deep-Frying Searing
	Grapeseed
	Sunflower
	Soybean / Soy

Note that the above table represents oils that are refined. Most oils we buy are refined. Refined oils tend to have much higher smoke points than their unrefined counterparts. They also differ in nutrition and flavor. Unrefined oils are more nutritious (some of oils’ nutrients are removed during the refining process) and they tend to be much richer in flavor. For instance, unrefined peanut oil will smell and taste just like peanuts, while refined peanut oil will have a lighter smell and taste.

When it comes to extremely high heat cooking, always choose oils which are refined. If, however, you are anxious to have a salad with a rich taste, splurge on the unrefined variety if your palate so desires!

I Heart Saturday AND....ready to brew

Just for fun: How many milligrams of caffeine in an 8 ounce cup

Starbucks Coffee Grande - straight up black - 300

McDonald's Coffee - small - last resort - 100

My Starbucks Verona drip coffee - from home- 135

VIA Instant - about 80

hello buttercup

When I was a student a Westmont College in Santa Barbara I had two great jobs. WAYyy back in 1987 when you went to chapel you had to handWRITE your student ID number on a blue card. My job was to input the student ID numbers into a computer. I got maybe $25 per week. Money for Penguins Frozen Yogurt.

I also worked at a little church. The First Christian Church in Santa Barbara. A historic little church in the center of downtown. Cool old pews and stained-glass windows.

The ad asked for a student at the college to teach the children's church every Sunday. The church consisted of mostly older folks but of course there were a few young families with kids. They would pay $250 per month.

I took on the job. They said that one of the couples from the church would pick me up at Westmont early Sunday morning to bring me to the church. I remember waiting outside the front of Clark dorm area until this ADORABLE elderly couple pulled up.

When they pulled up, I got in the car and they were very lovely and friendly. When we got to the church they really took me under their wing. They began to introduce me to the other families in the church.

My maiden name is Butterfield.

Somehow they thought my last name was Buttercup.

They started telling everyone that was my name. I did not correct them.

It all happened so fast.

All the way back to campus they talked all about what an unusual last name I had. How they had never met a Buttercup before, and on and on.

I said not a word.

So, for the rest of the year I was Paula Buttercup.

I was driving around downtown Santa Barbara this past month and I drove past this cafe.




Paradise Cafe is where a sweet elderly couple and Princess Buttercup ate after church on Sundays during the school year of 1987-1988.
They always treated. It still makes me smile.