Enjoy the weather with some Coffee!

So... what does the weather have to do with today's Coffee Party? Well... I have a weather expert with us as our featured blogger! Her name is Stacy Ann and I've just loved meeting her through The SITS Girls, she is a beautiful, hard working mommy, who is balancing her career as a Weather Anchor in NY City and motherhood!

I am looking forward to getting to know her better and I thought this would be a great way for more people to get to know her too! Please make sure you stop by her blog today and say hi and thanks for sharing her coffee with us! Weather Anchor Mama

 And now... I am going to let her share a little bit about herself and her blog:

I’m a full time Weather Anchor.  But, I’m a mama around the clock.  You’ll find me blogging about the many adventures I have with my daughter Princess.  I also chat about career stuff, current events, and my transition journey.  Be sure to stop by and say hi!   

I remember my first coffee experience.  I had been up late studying with friends for finals in high school.  In order to stay awake, someone recommended that we get a caffeine fix.  Back then I drank it for the effects- not the taste.

Fast forward years later and I find myself devouring at least two cups a day at work, and loving every bit of it.  I’ve worked all kinds of hours in the news biz, so coffee has become a means of survival.  I love all kinds of flavored coffee.  French vanilla, hazelnut, caramel are just some of my favs.  With just a drop of half and half, and four packets of raw brown sugar, I'm good to go. 

My work day starts in the afternoon with a cup of coffee

I love that French Vanilla smell.

Ahhhh!  Nothing like that first sip.

 Great pictures! Thanks for sharing with us Stacy! That was so nice! I hope everyone is enjoying their cup of coffee right now... and again, don't forget to pay a visit to our special featured blogger! Weather Anchor Mama

Stacy also wants to leave a question for all of you... our guests and friends that join every Friday with us: What are some of your favorite coffee flavors?

Share with us! And if you don't like coffee... share too! Let us know what you like! ;) And before everybody starts linking up... remember to hop around and check the links of those who visit... that will make for a great party! Hopefully more will continue to join each week!

© Paloma K.

Just add coffee

 Today I don't have much time for a "formal" blog post ... (when have I written a formal post? ok... you know what I mean anyway!)

so... I am just stopping by to remind you of tomorrow's Coffee Friday Party! Hopefully you've added some "coffee" to any of your posts of the week and will be able to link up with us! We'll have a special featured blogger and by the way... coincidentally she is a "weather expert" ... so is perfect now that everybody's been talking about Isaac! huh! Had I planned it this way it would've never worked!

So... don't forget to join us! I'll be so happy to see you here... and if you've been part of the previous Coffee Fridays you know that I try to pin/tweet about the links that are shared on our Coffee Party ! (directly from your blog)

So... link up... make friends! And have coffee with us!

<center> <a href="http://www.love4coffee.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="The Coffee Shop" src="http://goo.gl/XfoA6"></a></center>

© Paloma K.

Polvorones

So... Saturday I didn't know what to bake... I was feeling like baking something but wasn't sure what, I knew I wanted something simple and with not that many ingredients....

Well... I found the perfect thing thanks to Leslie from La cocina de Leslie , she posted a great recipe to make "Polvorones" (it's a Mexican kind of shortbread cookie), she got the recipe from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless and it's a great one!

This is a very friendly recipe for the kids... and it's a lot of fun! You can let them do the dough you just pretty much have to roll it out and bake... but they can have fun decorating the cookies with the colorful sprinkles!  I loved making these on Saturday because they were also a great "decoration" in the center of my table, very inviting! And hubby just loved them! They were all done pretty quickly so he sent me a text message yesterday before he came from work saying "Quiero Galletas" (I want cookies) ... wow! It seems these Mexican "Polvorones" can even make you speak Spanish! LOL! It was a great thing to have in the house... I almost felt like I was in Mexico again!

Polvorones
Yield: 24 cookies(recipe from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• Rainbow sprinkles 

Directions:

- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt.  Using a dough mixer, fork or potato masher, combine the butter into the flour mixture until no big pieces of butter are visible.  Continue to work the dough with your hands just until the dough forms a ball.  Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

 - Preheat oven to 325F. Place the ball of dough between two big sheets of plastic wrap, using your hands, flatten the dough to form a thick disk.  Roll out the dough, (between the two sheets of plastic), to 1/4-inch thickness.

- Peel off the top layer of plastic wrap and cut out cookies with a 3-inch cookie cutter.  (You can use any cookie cutter shape you want but if you want them to look more like the authentic "Mexican Polvorones" it should be a round cookie cutter.)  Gently press down on the sprinkles so that they stick to the cookie.

 - Carefully transfer the cookies to an ungreased baking sheet, placing the cookies about 1 to 2-inches apart.  Bake at 350F for 12 to 15 minutes (or until lightly golden). Let the cookies cool for about 2 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

 Enjoy with milk or coffee.... Hey... and speaking about coffee... have you added some "coffee" to any of your posts this week? Remember that if you just mention "coffee" somewhere in your post you can link up with us on our Coffee Friday! We have a very special guest for the week!

Linking up with Serenity Now: Weekend Bloggy Reading

© Paloma K.

Tuesday of Quotes and Nice Posts!

 Hello friends... so... have you been following Tropical Storm Isaac? Living close to the Gulf everybody's been talking about it, since it's in the Gulf of Mexico, it seems to be following the same path Katrina followed 7 years ago... Gladly this is just a storm and hopefully everyone will be ok... if you are in the area of the storm just take care and stay safe!

Now... some quotes... very "weather oriented" since we are talking about this topic:

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.
Anthony J. D'Angelo

 Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.
Mark Twain

 Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while.
Kin Hubbard

Would you bet your paycheck on a weather forecast for tomorrow? If not, then why should this country bet billions on global warming predictions that have even less foundation?
Thomas Sowell

Books have the same enemies as people: fire, humidity, animals, weather, and their own content.
Paul Valery

 

Sometimes I wish that I was the weather, you'd bring me up in conversation forever. And when it rained, I'd be the talk of the day.
John Mayer

And now... did you see the posts that linked up to us on Friday for our Coffee Friday Party? I hope so! If you missed them here I am sharing two of them today.... 

 

Mrs. BJ brought an amazing Cowboy Coffee Cake to our party... check it out on her blog Sweet Nothings

Yum! She shared the recipe too! So check it out!

My friend Lin brought an amazing recipe to make Strawberry and Raspberry Jam! Find it here at: Lin's Food

Delicious!

So... don't forget to add some coffee to any of your posts this week so you can join our party on Friday! remember that coffee doesn't even have to be the main topic, you don't need to share a recipe ... just write your normal post and mention "coffee" somewhere in it, add a link back to The Coffee Shop and Link up!

Thank you all for being part of this and always being so encouraging!

I'll be around!

© Paloma K.

Roots and Wings!

Good morning everybody! The sheets of my bed got stuck to me so I couldn't  get up earlier! LOL! ... ah! I don't envy mommies that have kids in school... LOL! But I know I will go through that sooner than I'd like to! -sigh- It is a blessing to see our children grow... but it's hard too! Letting go and not only allowing but also ENCOURAGING them to learn more, to explore, to dream!

There is a wonderful quote I read in a great book  "A Mother's Heart by Jean Fleming" that is always in my mind... 

"The best thing parents can do for their children is give them roots and wings."

As moms we have such a big responsibility! I've had "important" jobs before... I had a position of authority in the Company where I used to work... I wore many hats and I thought what I did mattered, what I said mattered... One day one of the managers of said company approached me and said:

 "I know you will not be able to be just at home when you marry, you'll NEED to work, that's who you are"

and I told him:

"If you think this Company is important for me, wait and see how much more important my family will be" ...

 I knew that would be true... but being single and without children I couldn't even begin to imagine how much!... what I do today... dressed in shorts and with my hair up... while apparently I am just washing dishes or cooking meals, when it seems I do something as "un-important" as coloring with my little girls... Now I know that what I am doing will shape lives! As I color, talk and look into my girls' eyes I can see they are absorbing every single word! every attitude I have! And while it's an awesome feeling it's also a scary one! Praise God I am not alone on this! He's given me an amazing hubby who is a great daddy and cares for our girls as much as I do... he takes the time to play Play-Doh with them, let them use his bare back as a canvas while they enjoy turning daddy into their colorful masterpiece with crayons and markers, reads stories to them and helps them memorize Bible verses! I am not alone either because I have God... and  I pray that even the mistakes I make while mothering will not be significant or that I can identify soon enough to try and fix them!

This weekend I read something that really stayed with me:

“Be careful how you speak to your children, one day it will become their inner voice.” by Peggy O'Mara

And I realized how true that is! Many times without even realizing it I know it's my mom or dad's voice what I hear inside of me... Sometimes that's what makes me do or not do things... even if it's not as clear as "would my mom approve of this" I know is there... 

But this can't scare me... this can't make me be overly cautious around me! I have to enjoy it all, be free to have fun with my girls! I know if my priorities are in order ... with God above it all... everything will be ok...

So... Happy Monday! Happy HAPPY Monday to you mom who had to wake up early today to give breakfast and get kids ready for school... I hope you smiled while doing it... and if you didn't... well... you can make it up when they come back ... smile, hug, kiss, play AND PRAY a lot!

Oh... and before I close this post I want to thank my friend Laura from Pruning Princesses for giving me "The Versatile Blogger" Award ... I am so honored... Although I would probably say that in my case it would be more like "The Random Blogger" Award... LOL! ... Thank you Laura, this is so nice... and yes... it made my Monday even happier! If you still haven't checked her blog out... you have too! She is pruning princesses too!


© Paloma K.

Coffee Friday ... just add some SALSA!

 Today's Coffee Friday is super special! I have a very busy and successful friend, who is just an amazing blogger and she accepted to do this "Coffee Friday" post just for the fun and for the memories of our beginnings as bloggers! We both started blogging around the same time a few years ago... We immediately connected and her blog took off... Life and stuff kept me away from blogging but she was someone I looked for as soon as I came back! I found her blog very changed but at the same time the same... Her personality has always been clear and defined... she is a kind and very creative person, someone you really want to get to know better! She is someone I really wish I could get to have a cup of coffee with in real life! Her name is Caroline, well... I guess I'll let her tell you a bit more about herself... but please make sure you visit her blog: Salsa Pie , read her ABOUT page and hopefully stick around and visit her often!

Today... she is serving coffee right her at the Coffee Shop! I am just thankful she found time in her busy calendar to spend some time with us today! Thank you Caroline! We appreciate it!

Hi, my name is Caroline. I'm a designer of creative family projects, a crafter, tinkering painter and mother of 4 children. I started my blog called Salsa Pie in 2009 to help foster an innovative spirit in my own children. There, I write about project ideas for the whole family and how to encourage creativity in kids! 

My family is Italian and my husband is Venezuelan so I think it's safe to say we take our coffee (and biscotti for that matter) pretty seriously! But, I really do try to limit the caffeine so I often substitute decaf for regular. 

Two great ways we enjoy our coffee at my house? With steamed milk or iced. 

A fun and easy coffee-related DIY idea for you today? Decorate a glass mug (or wine glass) with a glass marker. You can doodle a fun and sketchy-looking chevron pattern or modern dots. Serve iced coffee on a hot summer day in your newly decorated glass and make something as simple as a cup of coffee seem like a vacation! 

Thanks so much for having me Paloma!  

 Isn't she neat? I told you she was creative! She even shared a little project with us! (and talking about that... you really want to follow her on Pinterest . Thank you for sharing your coffee Caroline! We love international blends! ;)


© Paloma K.

Amazing... really amazing Potato Salad!

First of all! Don't forget our Coffee Friday party tomorrow! :) Just add some "coffee to your post", link back to us... and link it up! We'll have a very, very special Featured Blogger! A creative gal with a great blog with lots of personality! she'll bring some "Salsa" to our Blog... you'll see! ... I am actually writing this on Wednesday night because I just got home from a Meeting at Church, so if you've sent me an e-mail, tweet or left a comment, don't think I am ignoring you... it's just been very busy and I'll get to it... I promise!

Now... the recipe!

This Potato Salad Deserves 10 stars out of five! (I know... it doesn't make sense) but that's how GREAT it is!

Everywhere I take it is a big HIT! And people are always asking for more (and for the recipe too!)

I am a little zealous with the recipe, because even when it's originally from "All recipes" I made big changes, twists and some little tricks that I am willing (am I? I can't believe I am actually doing this) to share with you!

-sigh- Ok... here we go...

Potato and Bacon Salad
(Totally transformed recipe from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 5 eggs
• 4 slices bacon
• About 4 tablespoons yellow mustard (or to taste)
• 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 3 stalks celery, minced
• 5 big red potatoes potatoes peeled and cut to about a "big bite" size
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (divided)
• 1/2 red onion chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place the potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until fork tender. As soon as they are ready drain and transfer them to a big baking tray or jelly roll pan and drizzle them with the apple cider vinegar and mustard, gently tossing so they are perfectly coated, season them with some salt and pepper, let cool (you can place them in the fridge).
2. Meanwhile, place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. When water is about to start boiling remove immediately from the heat. Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 minutes. Never let the water boil (if the water boils with the eggs in it that causes the yolk to get gray and it's not pretty). Remove from hot water and peel as soon as the heat allows it, don't let them cool off completely or it will be harder to peel them and keep them nice.
3. Peel the eggs, cut them in quarters and set aside.
4. Cook bacon slices in the microwave for about 4 minutes until crisp, or fry in a skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble the bacon slices and set aside (divided).
5. Once the potatoes have cooled off transfer to a big bowl, add the quartered eggs, mayonnaise, celery, onions, 3 tbsp. of parsley, half of the bacon crumbs and add a pinch of salt and pepper if necessary, gently fold all the ingredients together until evenly coated. Garnish with remaining bacon and parsley over the top. 

 This goes great with Rotissery Style Roasted Chicken (check the video at the end for my recipe)

Note: It is very important to coat the potatoes with the mustard and vinegar while they are still very, very hot because this will allow the potatoes to absorb the acidity and flavor of the mustard/vinegar and will make the potatoes flavorful all the way through not just "coated with flavor" but bland in the inside. Trust me, this will make for a PERFECT salad.

Enjoy!

And here is the video for the rotisserie chicken, trust me, you won't want to buy it again! Forget about dry chicken breast!


Linking up with: Simple Lives Thursday
and: Serenity Now

Paloma K.

Don't forget ... and Post Recommendations!

Hello dear friends! It's awesome to have a BUZZ going on here at "The Coffee Shop" it's great to always see people online, friendly faces leaving nice comments and new people join! I am so excited because there are more things to come! you can be sure of that!

For now... just do not forget to add some "coffee to any of your posts of the week" and link that post back to us... if you already mentioned the word "coffee" then just add a link to "The Coffee Shop" or this button:

<center> <a href="http://www.love4coffee.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="The Coffee Shop" src="http://goo.gl/XfoA6"></a></center>

And make sure you join us this Friday like every Friday for our "Coffee Party" ... We're having more participation and great posts linking with us!

Here are two great examples from last Friday!

Chipotle Chicken Tacos With Lime Scented Kale - From Cooking The Keys:

And a great cook book recommendation specifically dedicated to cooking for kids with ADHD and Autism.

ADHD & Autism Cookbook  From: My two Precious Boys

Sorry I skipped my traditional "Tuesday of Quotes" yesterday... I'll have some good ones next week.. It's been hectic here! I'll tell you more about that soon! Have a great day!

© Paloma K.

I'm Baking Friends! Yes, with a B!

Hello friends! I usually post a HAPPY Monday Post on Mondays... but...  It's already that time of the month when I post about my experiences baking a cake for the great baking club I belong to: "The Cake Slice" (don't worry... it's a Happy post anyway)

This year we have been baking from a FANTASTIC book: The Cake Book by Tish Boyle, we've been enjoying month after month great, luscious cakes and desserts that have been voted by the members of this special baking club.

This month the selected cake was "Ultimate Lemon Roll"... I am not posting the recipe this time but you can find it here

Today I just want to mention that I am enjoying so much this whole baking a cake a month because I am actually "baking friends" LOL! ... I've used my passion for baking as a great opportunity to meet other people, this month I just made the cake and posted an open invitation on fb to all my friends for whoever wanted to join and eat some of the lemon roll! I've done that previously ... I had some friends show up and some others that requested a slice... it was a lot of fun! I just moved here a year ago (from Wisconsin to Texas) and it's about a year ago that I joined the Cake Slice Bakers club, so it's all worked out perfect and now I have made great friends that have just gotten closer through my baking! I enjoy cooking/baking a lot... but mostly because it brings people together! Everybody enjoyed this cake... although I must say that I did get some "it's too lemony" comments, so if you are not a "lemon lover" this might not be for you.

Now... some pictures of the making of the cake and the enjoying it too!

The lemon curd / Chilling in an iced water bath

The sheet cake before going into the oven

Cake right out of the oven

Rolled up, cooling off

I had some issues when filling it up, and the cake cracked a little but I still think it looks great

Some of the sweet friends who enjoyed this dessert (and my almost 4 yo)

I also baked some M&M cookies, my girl of course had to pose.

 So... I think inviting people out of the blue... and or having something sweet always at home for those who want to stop by is one of many great friends to get to know people.. what do you do to make friends? Sometimes when we feel lonely we isolate ourselves even more... but.. if we want friends we can find ways to meet people and/or get to know them better... who knows... maybe they are waiting for you to give the first step.

 © Paloma K.

Even in the darkest storm...

 ... there is always some light...

and this Rainbow found it!

Beautiful! Thank you God for your Promises... Thank you for such beauty!

© Paloma K.

Coffee Friday - Southern Style

Hello Everybody! I am so happy to be with all of you another FRIDAY! Ready? Have your cup of coffee in hand? No? well... go ahead and get the coffee maker started or just enjoy some of the coffee that our Featured Blogger is sharing with us today!

So... who is this Featured Blogger? well... it's Heather Pedersen she is an "old fellow blogger" not that she is old (ehem...or that I am... ) but we connected back in 2008 I think, when I started blogging (and she was starting too)... I remember she was just married! and I am happy to see her just as happy and more in love with her other half! Josh! :) We have lots in common, we are both Christian girls, married to Josh (two different "Joshes" LOL!) and we both love coffee (she says it's her vice) ... well... you can read more about her on her blog: Mrs. Southern Bride. If you are not following her yet I hope you do! I love her posts and I know you will too!

So... here's what she'd like to share with us:

Okay, so I was trying to think of a good coffee picture that I have. I decided to share my "Dirty Chai" drink. Hee hee. A dirty chai is basically Chai Tea with Espresso shots. (you probably know that already, but just in case...) We ordered it at The Pearl Cup in Dallas. A tasty little place with amazing coffee!

Now, I'm off to have my morning coffee drink after all this talk, it's making me thirsty.

Isn't that a great shot? It's making ME thirsty too! Heather: Thank you so much for being part of "The Coffee Shop" and our "Coffee Friday Party"

So don't forget to stop by Heather's blog  Mrs. Southern Bride and thank her for sharing some coffee with all of us today!

And now... it's time to get the party started!

© Paloma K.

Thursday! Sweet Thursday!

Hello everybody! Sorry I didn't post yesterday! It was such a crazy busy day! I had all the good intentions to post, reply, comment and I barely even touched the computer! I had grocery shopping to do, stopped by a friend's house and then I was even running a little late for choir rehearsal but I made it there even a little early! YAY for that! Then I got a very bad headache and came home but couldn't even think of anything to write or even sitting in front of the computer, took two ibuprofen and went to sleep -sigh- ... My head? Much better now, thanks for asking! :)

Today... is a new day and I am sure it will be great! :) It's 6:14 as I type and everyone's sleeping... it's almost time to wake hubby up so he can start his day and let his little light shine out there! .

Remember tomorrow is Coffee Friday! For those who have been wondering about it... well...click here for more info (especially if you'd like to be featured! That would be awesome!) but it's quite simple to just link up! If you mention the word coffee on ANY of your posts of the WEEK (when I say "mention coffee" I literally mean that... if you said something like "I haven't had my coffee yet" or "I need another cup of coffee" or "I went to a coffee shop with friends" or "my toddler just spilled the coffee" in your post ... then... it definitely meets the "coffee requirement" you don't need to think too much about it or write a whole post about coffee (that's fun and fine too but I am just saying that's not required)... so if you randomly mentioned coffee you can join our coffee party... There is a linky tool (by inlinkz) that I use on my Friday posts and you just need to click on that button and fill the blanks with the information of the post you'd like to link (they'll tell you what each blank space is for) so it's quite simple! You don't need to be much of an expert ;) ... Just please remember to add a link back to us within such post! That way more people will know about our party! And a party... to be a good one... needs PEOPLE! :)

You can use this button (within your post) to link back! :)

<center> <a href="http://www.love4coffee.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="The Coffee Shop" src="http://goo.gl/XfoA6"></a></center>

I just made that button... so it's now 7:27! LOL! It's the longest it's taken me to write a post! And I am not even saying what I meant to say originally... I guess I was going to post some kind of dessert... oh yes... I remember... A muffin recipe!

"Everything" Breakfast Muffins

Original recipe"Morning Glory Muffins" from Allrecipes.com 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, shredded
• 3/4 pound carrots, shredded
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (safflower is best)
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 large muffin cups.
2. Mix brown sugar, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cranberries, coconut, flax seed, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Add grated apple and carrots; stir to combine. Add pineapple, vegetable oil, applesauce, walnuts, eggs, and vanilla extract; stir until just combined. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 35 minutes. 

 Linking up to: Serenity Now Weekly Bloggy Reading

Paloma K. 

Tuesday of Quotes - ON Change!

Hello friends! It's been really busy here and at the same time not so much! Yesterday I (well... my two girls and I) took a very long (and very much needed) afternoon nap! It was very much "not planned" so I got behind on a lot of things! But I am very happy I could rest so peacefully!

I will come back and try to get more done around here... Plus tweeting more on your articles and sharing with the world about your blog posts! :)

BTW... I miss Tara from Nowhere to Go but Crazy anybody seen her? She hasn't stopped by the Coffee Shop lately... mmm... I think I'll have to go and comment on her blog too! It's not like I've been doing great with that!

So... anyway.. Today I'll take the girls to the Splash-Pad... I'll have to protect myself from the sun because it seems I've developed some over-sensitivity to the sun! I get this "allergic reaction" every time I am exposed to the sun... and IT BURNS! So... -sigh- I have to protect myself from that!

Now... some of my usual Tuesday quotes... This time they'll be about CHANGE! I hope you enjoy them!

 --------

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” - Leo Tolstoy


"The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” - Albert Einstein

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” - Andy Warhol


“And that is how change happens. One gesture. One person. One moment at a time.” - Libba Bray, The Sweet Far Thing

 “We are taught you must blame your father, your sisters, your brothers, the school, the teachers - but never blame yourself. It's never your fault. But it's always your fault, because if you wanted to change you're the one who has got to change.” - Katharine Hepburn, Me: Stories of My Life 

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” ― Mother Teresa 

ouch!!! Right?

 
 Very insightful quotes (to say the least) ... I know I need to do some changes in MY LIFE... there is always something to improve! To get rid of! To modify!

Some of the things I need to change/improve:

- Consistency! I need to be consistent with my work here at home, my discipline for my kids and the homeschooling for my almost 4 yr. old

- Diet/Exercising: (More consistency issues) I have been lazy with that lately! It needs to change! No more excuses!

- Sleeping Habits: I need to go to bed earlier... to wake up earlier be able to get blogging things done and exercise first thing in the morning so I don't take time from the girls and my house responsibilities.

- My Bible reading/Prayer Time: So many times I try to do things on my very own... when I know I've been doing bad in my time with God... everything else falls apart too! Lord... help me do your will... Forgive me for not talking to you and reading your Word everyday... I need you!

Those are some that come to mind right now! I have to start... TODAY! :) Change is painful, hard to embrace... but very necessary! Is there something you need to change too Are you with me? would you like to share?
 
© Paloma K.

Feedback, thank yous, HAPPY MONDAY!

Thank you all for your feedback on my previous post and helping me come to a decision about my Coffee Friday Party!

1st. Coffee Friday is here to stay! YAY! whoever wants to join is welcome... I know I am enjoying it a lot and I love my featured bloggers and their pictures. (thank you all for your ideas!)

2nd. I will add some things to the Coffee Friday, like the Button for people who have been featured and a short description of the Coffee Friday on my sidebar (even when it's already in one of my tabs)


---

Right now I just came back from the pool, we had fun with a friend and her youngest boy... It's time for me to do our classes (homeschooling) so I have to run... But I didn't want to let the day pass without thanking you all for your support and reminding you to have A HAPPY DAY!

I hope you are all enjoying! It's going to be a great week!

© Paloma K.

I need your suggestions... should I change?

Good morning friends from "The Coffee Shop" I hope you are all doing well! Here I am ... enjoying this beautiful Saturday morning! I must admit I had planned to stay in bed a little (or a lot) longer but my little girls decided differently!

Anyway... Here I am today, after such a great participation from Tricia (our featured blogger yesterday) I am just so thankful for all the people who accept my invitation to be featured or send me their pictures on their own... it's a blessing also to have friends who join the party by linking up and some that even feel bad they couldn't link up because they were busy.. Thank you! I am honored with your friendship... BUT...

I am starting to wonder what's going on... I do have traffic going on on Fridays... well.. everyday but yesterday was a pretty good day with visitors stopping by ... and I am starting to wonder if Coffee Friday is probably not such a good idea as I thought... you know? I am not on a soap box or looking for people to feel bad and join because of that... I am honestly seeking for suggestions and feedback... so... my questions are:

- Should I change the coffee Friday party to another day? Maybe there are to many Friday Party link-ups out there already?
- Should I make the requirements different? I mean... I am not asking people to do anything "weird" to join (LOL!) basically just... if their post has the word "coffee" somewhere (and link back to us) is enough to link up... so... what do you suggest about that?
- I am working at contacting great bloggers and inviting them hoping they'll accept being featured and so far it's working good! but... is there anything that would be better than them sharing some "coffee pictures" / captions and a little about themselves and their blog?

Any other suggestions? I am scratching my head here wondering why it's not working as good... I know I must be patient too... probably I just need to keep this going for a longer time? 

I am also working everyday trying to help others by sharing their material on twitter and pinning it... replying to comments, visiting blogs, etc... I am working at building relationships! :)

-ehem- a harder question to ask... but is... my blog even... appealing at all? don't feel bad to answer honestly... or to even give some hints... :) I appreciate it all!

 So... what do you think? I am all ears! And open to receive feed back :)

Thank you!


© Paloma K.

Coffee Friday for Humans!

Well... Today's Coffee Party is VERY special! Every time I have a friend share about their blog and some of their coffee with us is special! I am so honored to have such awesome fellow bloggers who support what I am trying to do here at The Coffee Shop... "what is she trying to do?" you probably wonder! I am trying to provide a spot for everyone, but I must say I am especially focused on women, who devote their lives to their families, who stay home or have to go out for work, who are strong and so busy serving others and putting everyone else first that they don't always find time to gather with friends and go to even just a Coffee Shop and just talk about the things they care for! share their secrets, their struggles, etc... I know...you probably thought my blog was just about coffee or just about food... But I really want it to be a place where others can find encouragement, a happy thought or motivation to keep going! (food and coffee always help of course!) basically another human to connect to! It's sad when it seems that the more advanced technologically we are and the more ways exist to communicate we have lost real connection with others and there are more people feeling lonely out there!

Well... Today's featured blogger is perfect for this "people oriented purpose"... she is actually working hard at Raising Humans, her name is Tricia and this is what she would love to share with us:

Hello! I’m Tricia and I am so pleased to be visiting The Coffee Shop today! I have harbored an undeniable love for coffee for decades now and even spent a few years working at Starbucks to seal the deal. Nothing comforts me more than wrapping my hands around a steaming mug, though my photos today betray my love of the iced varieties!

While I'm sipping coffee (mostly decaf these days!) I'm usually also writing about my little girl, and soon to be little boy, and all of the things that they are teaching me, at Raising Humans. I write about those moments – the good and bad, the beautiful and sometimes ugly – moments when we realize that we are all growing together. And sometimes, I also write about coffee. And my love for it.

And now... some coffee:

My barista ♥s me. So I'll forgive that he spelled my name incorrectly!

Laptop + coffee = BFF

                                         My daughter is starting her love of coffee early by collecting coffee beans                                            from the grocery store.  She keeps them in her closet, next to her shoes

Thank you Tricia for sharing with us! Thank you for sharing about yourself, your love for coffee and for letting us have some of it through your pictures! (they are lovely!)

Please stop by Tricia's blog Raising Humans and don't forget to say hi! Let her know you are stopping by from "The Coffee Shop" and tell her how you liked today's coffee! I know she'll love that!

© Paloma K.

I hope you are ready!

 Today... I've been very busy ... I've been sharing fellow bloggers' content on twitter and Pinterest... it is nice to support one another and to share with others what great bloggers are writing about!

I've also been here, just taking care of the house and my girls... I had to cover also as a Host of the Beanchat because the person who was supposed to do it ended up not responding again and well... that didn't go as expected... but thank goodness I was available and I could cover for her!

Right now my littlest one is taking a nap and I've been reading Divergent... I am almost done with BOOK 1, after having read BOOK 2 first by mistake... (I am telling you... those Trilogy books should be numbered! LOL!) and later at night I'll put together tomorrow's post for our Coffee Party!

We'll have a great blogger being featured... so please don't miss it! You know it's very easy to join... I am not asking you for anything too big or too hard... just "mention coffee" on any of your posts of the week (coffee doesn't even need to be the main topic), link back to us (so more can join the Party) and LINK UP!

That simple!

And even if you can't link up for any reason we'll still be happy to see you comment and enjoy a cup of coffee with us!

Many blessings!


© Paloma K.

Divergent Trilogy and a Mexican Recipe!

 Hello friends, ready with your cup of coffee? I hope you've been enjoying your week so far! It's been very busy here and I haven't had much time to be on the computer! Just have had my days filled (which is great) and I re-started homeschooling my 3 yr. old. It's been so much fun! She loves it and I do too!

I've also been baking a lot and having friends over! Today I am going to help do something at church (I am not even sure what, but I jumped right in when a friend told me she'd be there to help lol!) then I'll be going to Chick-Fil-A for lunch (my girls love it, and even when I love it too I don't get too excited about going there at noon because it's always packed!)... anyway... I said Divergent Trilogy, right?

Well... about probably 2 weeks ago I bought (what I thought was) the 1st. book of the Divergent Trilogy...

It was weird because the name of the Book was "Insurgent" and I thought the name of the 1st. book would be "Divergent" ... I saw the Divergent Book, opened it and I could swear I saw something that said "the 2nd. book of the Divergent Trilogy" inside of it... then I went ahead and opened the "Insurgent" book in my hands and I could also swear it said "the first book of the divergent trilogy" ... what went wrong? I don't know! I was sooo unsure that was the first book so I thought I really checked twice before buying it but... I did.. and even when I started reading it something was off! Things didn't make sense... I had the feeling I was supposed to know what was going on ... but I didn't ... so I convinced myself it's probably just the style of the author... and maybe things would get clear later... things did get easier later ... and I got the personality of the characters and understood that a lot had happened before but I thought the author explained it all throughout the book... I was sure I was reading the 1st. book of the Trilogy!!! (ugh!) ... I wasn't!!!

Then... when I finished the book... I was eager to read the 2nd. one... so I went to the bookstore THAT NIGHT and got it... guess what... when I start reading... I realize... I was wrong! The whole time! And here I am ... reading the 1st. book with such disappointment because I now knew what was going to happen... I tried to convince myself this would be like watching "Batman" and then "Batman -The Beginning-" or something like that ... it hasn't been bad at all though... I thought I wouldn't be able to get into it since I know so much of what's going to happen! But it's been really great and I finally get details about the personalities and "lives" of the characters that I might have to read the second book again! LOL! ...

Anyway... I recommend this book! There are some things I haven't liked but overall it's a good read, I've liked it better than "The Hunger Games"  ... I am almost done with the first book (2nd. one for me... LOL!) of the Trilogy... and I can't wait for Fall 2013 to read the last book!

And now... A recipe!

I am going to just start sharing here some of the recipes of my "Mexican cooking Blog" since I haven't been around there for a while... for a long time actually! So... for all my followers here I'll just start bringing those recipes over! I hope you enjoy them! All AUTHENTIC!

I know the fact that these albondigas are stuffed with hard-boiled egg might make some people nervous, but trust me... my husband (who is a gringo) loved them! :) He was skeptic at first but they are delicious!

Albondigas rellenas de huevo / Meatballs stuffed hard-boiled egg

Yields: 8 Meatballs (4 servings)

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb. ground beef
2. 1 chipotle pepper (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce) -it HAS TO BE chipotle, any other "chili pepper or powder wouldn't give this dish the wonderful smokey flavor -
3. 2 cloves of garlic
4. 1/4 white onion
5. 6 roma tomatoes (or about 4 of the whole red tomatoes) - cut in quarters or big chunks -
6. 3 hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters (you will probably only need 2 because we are making about 8 meatballs but cook 3 eggs just in case)
7. 1/4 cup of white rice
8. 1 cube of chicken bouillion
9. salt and pepper to taste (about 2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. of black pepper... adjust to your taste)
10. about 1.5 tbsp. vegetable oil (or a little more if necessary)

Directions:
- In a middle sauce pan pour some water (fill it about half-way) and when the water starts boiling throw the 1/4 cup of white rice and let it boil for only 5 minutes, remove from the heat, drain the rice immediately and set aside (let it cool for about 5 minutes)

- Mix the ground beef with the rice, season with some salt and black pepper and mix it all well with your hands.
- With the meat start making "patties" (like hamburger patties) and wrapping the egg quarters with those patties (one quarter per each of the patties) Making sure the egg is completely wrapped by the mix of meat/rice. Do this with all the meat/rice mixture. You should have about 8 meatballs. Set aside.

- Put your tomatoes, garlic, chipotle pepper and about 1 cup of water in the blender. Blend it all until it makes a sauce (as smooth as possible)
- In an extended non-stick pan using medium-low heat add the oil and fry your 1/4 onion there (you can slice the onion if you want, it doesn't matter much but the onion will be removed) While the onion is frying and the oil is hot add your meatballs carefully so they don't open or fall apart, if you use medium or medium-high heat it might cause them to break so just be patient and seal your meatballs on all sides.

-Once they are browned on all sides (about 9-10 minutes) remove the oil and the oil excess. Add your sauce and chicken bouillion (you can add some salt at this point if necessary but wait until the sauce has been simmering for about 5 minutes to taste and adjust) once you add the sauce you can also add chopped potatoes if you want just to add something else, but I left it like that. Bring it all to a boil, cover, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for about 35 minutes and serve. (side of rice, mashed potatoes or salad)

I hope you like this recipe! If you do please let me know! Comments are always a great encouragement to keep cooking/sharing.

© Paloma K.

A day or Romance and Splashing!

Good Tuesday everyone! Inspired by hubby's note on the mirror yesterday... I thought Today's Quotes would be all... romantic! Let's get mushy! shall we?

Hubby and me!

Romantic Quotes: 

 ♥♥♥♥♥♥

"The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but to hold hands."
- Alexandra Penney

"Before I met my husband, I'd never fallen in love. I'd stepped in it a few times."
- Rita Rudner

"As we grow older together, As we continue to change with age, There is one thing that will never change. I will always keep falling in love with you."
- Karen Clodfelder

"Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."
- Albert Einstein

"Love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less."
- Julins Gordon

"Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit."
- Peter Ustinov

♥♥♥♥♥♥

So... I hope you liked these quotes... and if you haven't been inspired to tell your other half how you feel about him/her lately... hopefully these encourages you to go and say something nice... we all need to hear we are loved!

Now... I have to get going... taking my girls to the Splash Pad today!

© Paloma K.