Life with Dylan

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  • The right and wrong way to cut an onion

    I am 41 years old and I have just learned the right way to cut an onion. Yes, there is a right and wrong way to cut an onion. Not the way you are probably thinking though – this technique has nothing to do with the tears in your eyes, but everything to do with the size of your onion pieces.

    Thanks to a video posted by Tiny Oranges, I now have beautifully cut onions.

    If you are a culinary expert, then you may already know this technique – but for me – the average mom who loves to cook this was the highlight of my day.

    Watch the video over at Tiny Oranges and see for yourself. You will never dread cutting an onion again. Bring on the recipes with chopped onions and minced onions.

  • Family Time

    There is something to be said for spending time together as a family. Not just sitting in front of the television together, but real quality time together. This doesn’t mean you have to spend lots of money – be creative and think about what your child enjoys doing.

    You may be surprised at how the simplest things, like playing a game of checkers with your child, will mean more to them than spending the day at an amusement park. It’s the time when you turn off the television. Unplug from the internet. Put down the phone. (yes, I did pause to take this picture and was quickly reminded of the rules – No phone Mom) The time when you give all of your attention to your child.

    This is what they will remember. Believe it or not, children pay more attention to the times we say “Just a minute” or “I can look when I finish my work” than we think they do. And before long, they will stop asking you to look at the picture they just drew – or the LEGO creation they just made.

    Before you know it, your child will be too busy with their friends to even want to play a board game with you or swing at the park. I often wonder how my son got so big so fast – and before I know it, he will be dating and going off to college.

    This may sound far fetched since he is only 8 years old, but these past eight years flew by. So who’s to say the next eight years won’t fly by just as fast?

    Quality time can’t be bought.

    Quality time is priceless.

    How much quality time do you spend together as a family?

  • Lemon-pepper fettuccine

    I love trying new recipes and I love cooking things from scratch rather than opening a jar. Thanks to my new cookbook, I have lots of easy recipes to try out. This week it was Dylan’s turn to choose something new. Of course he chose his all-time favorite food – PASTA!

     Lemon-pepper fettuccine

    12 ounces fettuccine
    1 tablespoon unsalted butter
    1 large shallot, minced
    1 1/4 cups heavy cream
    1 large egg yolk
    1 to 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
    1/3 cup grated pecorino cheese
    freshly ground pepper

    This is an easy recipe to make that serves 4 people and only takes 20 minutes from start to finish.

    As with any pasta dish, some yummy crusty Italian bread is always a good addition.

    1. Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil and cook the fettuccine as directed on the package. Drain and save about 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
    2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and a pinch of salt, cook about 3 minutes – stirring occasionally until lightly golden brown. Whisk the cream, egg, and lemon zest together in a bowl. Reduce heat to low and add the cream mixture and cheese to the skillet. Cook, whisking, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
    3. Add the pasta to the skillet and toss. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved cooking water to thin. Serve in pasta bowels and top with more cheese!
    This turned out so good and the sauce is perfect – not to thick and just the right amount of flavor. It’s not too rich either like some cream sauces can be.

    Recipe from Food Network Magazine Great Easy Meals Cookbook

  • Wordless Wednesday – My week in food

    My week in food via Instagram. Not sure what it is, but food just looks better with Instagram.

    Shop Dylan's Candy Bar for Valentine's Day!

  • A day at the San Diego Zoo in pictures

    Recently Dylan and I spent the day at the San Diego Zoo and it was the perfect day. A few clouds and sprinkles, but we didn’t mind – this meant less people.  We spent almost 8 hours walking around the zoo and I took over 100 pictures! Yes, we have been to the zoo many times before … but this was my chance to play with my new camera. The subjects were so accommodating that I just kept clicking away.

    These are just some of my favorites.

             https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

    And I loved capturing these priceless candid shots of Dylan trying to climb on the polar bear statues. His pants didn’t make it very easy – he kept slipping off. We both laughed so much.

  • The Amazing Adventures of Captain Don!

    I don’t know about you, but I love reading stories to my son. Even though he can read to himself, it’s still fun to read aloud and get lost in the story with him.

    Last week I saw a post on twitter about a great book for kids on whale watching from Dana Wharf. The first 10 people to reply would get a free copy of the book. I never reply – because I never win – but this time I did, and I got a copy of the book.

    Knowing nothing about the book, I didn’t know what to expect. Would it be age appropriate for my son?

    Was it just a book advertising whale watching trips at Dana Wharf? To my surprise, this turned out to be the cutest book I’ve seen for kids on what to expect on a whale watching trip. For this reason, I had to share it with you.

    The Amazing Adventures of Captain Don! is written and illustrated for kids of all ages. Everyone from a toddler to a 10 year-old will love this book. I love this book.

    (more…)

  • The Pinewood Derby is Serious Business

    For those of you who have sons in Cub Scouts, you know that the annual Pinewood Derby is serious business. Not just for the kids, but for the parents (mostly the Dads) – because the parents are usually the ones doing most of the wood cutting and sanding. Sure, the kids paint the cars and help, but really how much can a 7 or 8 year old do with saw? Well, at least safely.

    This year was Dylan’s third year racing in a Pinewood Derby. He has yet to win. And I found out that this was my Dad’s 21st pinewood derby car to help make.

    Being an Eagle Scout, he has raced his own cars as well as those of his sons, and now his grandson. I stay out of it because it’s just too much pressure to have the perfect car. The perfect weight. The perfect wheels.

    In my head I’m thinking ‘people, it’s a piece of wood’ – but I know better than to say this out loud around the guys. I may be a girl, but I’m not stupid!

    Dylan named his car the Silver Bullet. He drew his own bullet on the car and decided to put a driver in the car. What kind of driver do you put in a pinewood derby car? A LEGO driver of course!

    Like I said, this is serious business. The boys have to pass inspection and certification at check-in. From here the cars are taken and the boys don’t touch them again until after the race. This stops people from adding weights or anything that may give their car an advantage after the car has been inspected. Shocking, I know, but it has happened. (I told you this was serious business)

    Each car races in four heats, a different lane each time. This keeps it fair in case one lane happens to be slower than another. The car who wins the most heats will win for that level of Cub Scouts.

    Dylan’s Silver Bullet won 3 out 4 heats. Proud day in our household and proud day for Grandpa.
    After building and racing in 21 Pinewood Derby’s, this is only the second time he has stood in the winners circle.

    So happy and proud of my little guy. We had to go out and celebrate.

    Where? Icicles of course! 
    He didn’t want to leave his car or trophy in the car, so we brought them with us. I think he secretly wanted people to ask him about the trophy – and that’s totally fine with me. he deserved a little recognition and praise. After all, he just won the Pinewood Derby!

  • Beautyisms – an ideology

    Have you ever had an idea that rolls around in your head with all the other marbles, but somehow gets lost among the daily to-do lists?

    Well, I did – and last week that little marble finally made its way to the top of the to-do list. I’ve been so consumed with transforming this idea from a marble rolling around in my head to something actual, that I’ve been ignoring this blog a bit. So be forewarned, there will be a heap of blog posts coming soon. 🙂

    However, in the meantime, I would love for you to check out what my little marble turned into. Many of you know that I have a deep love for beauty, makeup, skincare, and anything remotely related. After ending Shel Cosmetics, I started writing beauty articles for OC Moms – eventually adding Beautiful You Mondays to this blog so that I could get my weekly beauty fix.

    Well, it just wasn’t enough.

    Beautyisms is my new blog that will be strictly beauty. Anything and everything you ever wanted to know about makeup, product reviews, skincare, and even some daily beauty deals.

    Life with Dylan will continue, but as a lifestyle blog.

    The beauty stuff will be over at Beautyisms. Check it out, with my soft-launch (as I still have work to do on the blog) and follow @beautyisms  – the ideology of beauty has just begun.

  • Grandma’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

    Some people have childhood memories of warm chocolate cookies and a glass of milk – for me it’s oatmeal raisin cookies. My grandma made the best oatmeal raisin cookies and I remember helping her make them just like it was yesterday. I would kneel on the chair so that I could reach the counter and help her measure the ingredients. When she wasn’t looking I would sneak some of the cookie dough – a taste for each phase. First the sugar and butter, then when the flour was added, and finally when the oats were mixed in.

    Rainy days are always the best days for baking, so yesterday I decided to make a batch of my grandma’s oatmeal raisin cookies. Oh, the memories it brought back. I tasted the dough at each phase of the mixing just like I did when I was a child more than 30 years ago.

    And when the cookies came out of the oven …

    I ate one. OK, so I ate two. Still warm with all the chewy goodness melting in my mouth.
    When was the last time you made cookies?

    Do you have a favorite cookie from your childhood that you make?

  • Beautiful You Mondays – Golden Globe Awards

    Award season has started and the internet is filled with who wore what and who had the best makeup. Twitter was crazy last night and the blogs were posting in real-time. Today the fashion sites and newspapers are posting pictures and opinions.

    Next week the magazine covers will be adorned with Golden Globe beauties, along with the famous best dressed and hit and miss lists.

    My favorite had to be Nicole Kidman. She looked amazing. Showing off her slender, yet hourglass frame in a Versace gown with just the right color of beading to compliment her hair color. Nicole’s makeup was just the right amount and her skin looked beautiful as always.

    While I love watching for the dresses, the hair, the makeup, the jewelry, and who showed up with who – I noticed something very different this year.

    The shine. The wrinkles. The heavy makeup on some. And the natural beauty on others.

    Funny, because most of the pictures I am seeing today don’t have these flaws. The talk of edited photos has been quite popular lately, including this “fake commercial” (made to look real) for Fotoshop by Adobe. This is just another example of how women can’t always believe what we see in the magazines or on the internet.

    I enjoyed seeing some of the older actresses actually look their age – Meryl Streep never tries to hide her age. While Jessica Lange looks like a plastic catastrophe. I love her as an actress, but I wish she would have not done so much to her face.

    The one woman who stood out for me, more than just her face, was Angelina Jolie. Aside from her thin frame and gorgeous dress, her face is what seemed to look different in every picture I saw. Definitely not the same face I saw on my television. In some pictures her skin looks very pale and white, almost like a geisha. In  others she looks tan and flawless. On the television she looks shiny (even oily) and sick with sunken eyes and dark circles covered by layers of makeup.

    Don’t get me wrong – I think Angelina is a beautiful woman and I believe what she does for children and the United Nations is wonderful. I just don’t like when women look up to these people and aspire to look like them when what we are seeing in the magazines is not always what we would see in real life.