.SOMETIMES RAW.

Hello and Happy Wednesday! 

So, recently I have been crazy about chocolate-anything that it is not funny anymore. And no, I am not pregnant. It was just a phase and I am glad it passed. However, throughout this time I searched for recipes that made my hips and my heart happy. I discovered this Peanutbutter/Chocolate Madness and I have to tell you one thing about it up front. It is probably by far one of the best cakes I have ever had. It is creamy, juicy, chewy, smells and tastes like caramel and simply to die for. My father added that one should keep a defibrillator close by and after eating one piece it reminded me of the Family Guy Stroke Episode but it is so worth it. You cannot eat more than this slice pictures above; honestly, it is very rich. Are you ready for it? Do you want it? Do you want it now? Here you have it. Enjoy! 

Before you start, this is what you will need: a tart-pan; I used 9-inch/1-inch tall and found that this is definitely the right size. If you do want to use a standard pie pan you might have to double the filling and chocolate which you actually don’t really want. [little reminder of Mr. Stroke here, hah!] Also, use parchment paper instead of greasing the pan. I had difficulties removing the cake from the tart pan afterwards! I used Walkers Shortbread just because they are so good. You can use any cheaper variety of  butter cookies in fact. 

I enjoyed my slice with a nice cup of coffee. Happy baking. 

Hello and Happy Sunday. 

Spending quality time with my son is one of my favorite things to do. I love to watch him learn, discover and even make mistakes. It is all good; it is life. I learn while observing him myself and I see how he loves to do certain things with a passion. For whatever reason, when we are close to a piano, he wants to sit and “play”. Or drums. Same thing. 

I read the New York Times almost daily and save articles I really like. I stumbled upon a great article by Adam Grant on ‘How to Raise a Creative Child. Step one: Back off’. I found his point super interesting and I am of course interested to bring more creativity into my life – or in my son’s life. I am getting a little philosophical here for a couple of minutes.  Grant argues that to a good way to nurture a creative child into eventually being a creative adult is to simply back off. 

“The parents of ordinary children had an average of six rules, like specific schedules for homework and bedtime. Parents of highly creative children had an average of fewer than one rule. Creativity may be hard to nurture, but it’s easy to thwart. By limiting rules, parents encouraged their children to think for themselves. They tended to “place emphasis on moral values, rather than on specific rules,” the Harvard psychologist Teresa Amabile reports.”

He further mentioned studies on how creativity gets destroyed when there are too many rules and practice. It is sort of like we are trapped again by the same thought patterns or the same familiar way of doing things. I even noticed this for myself. Writing is my passion. I love it and have so many great ideas. But then in the evening when I am finally at my computer and have time to write it sometimes seems my creativity has just gone out the window. I think this happens because I am also getting sucked into some sort of routine. On the other hand, if I am really passionate about something I do make it happen. No matter what. 

“What motivates people to practice a skill for thousands of hours? The most reliable answer is passion — discovered through natural curiosity or nurtured through early enjoyable experiences with an activity or many activities.”

Have you heard about Pragmatic Theory of Truth? I have taken several philosophy classes in college and learned about Pragmatism and a great philosopher named John Dewey. In a nutshell, Dewey was very well knows for his education method and he said that children should be educated through discovery. Children should be able to explore and show a somewhat natural interest in any area or subject. Then you should teach and educate them about this particular subject or thing. He says that it is wrong to force any liberal arts education on a child. One should rather focus on their natural interests that bring more passion into the learning process. 

What do you think ? Have you ever thought about this? I would love to hear your thoughts. You can find the article here. Enjoy and have a great week! 

Hello and Happy Thursday. 

My friend – I call her V- visited me tonight and we had good talks, as usual. We know each other for over 30! years; have kept a familiar bond and remained friends all this time. Amazing, we both think. Do you have this special friend that you don’t even see all so often but if you do it instantly clicks again? Yep, she is that kind of friend and I truly love her. We talked a lot about old times and when we grew up together, played in kindergarten and discovered all kind of fun stuff. Together with my siblings we played for hours and always discovered new games that kept us entertained. Life was and is good and uncomplicated. 

Reasons for this post was a questions I have been asked many times recently: “At what point in your life did you know you were ready for a child?”

Tonight my friend V and I also brought my son to bed together, read a bedtime story and afterwards we talked a bit about babies, kids and whatnot. She told me that kids are not on her mind, these days or never. Who knows! I realized that I never wanted to have kids before. It was seriously and definitely not on my mind. All I ever wanted was career, traveling the world and discovering something new while taking responsibility just for my own actions. Seeing myself as a mom seemed boring. I would have rather been a spy or something. I never even enjoyed to babysit to polish up my pocket-money. I also felt that when having a child I would miss out on intellectual stimulation and that I would be stuck at home forever doing housework. A baby never fit in my agenda, in my plans or my lifestyle to be honest. It was fun to come home whenever I wanted, leave whenever I wanted and do whatever I wanted. For some reason, something was always missing though. I could not see what was missing at that time until I met my husband. Things became clearer. Clear to the point when for the very first time I could picture myself having a child. With the right partner. 

When I discovered I was pregnant I was initially scared but excited at the same time. Isn’t it amazing to be able to become pregnant which is a miracle to begin with? Throughout the pregnancy I realized and was blown away by the thought what a huge change motherhood will bring. I think and analyze a lot. All the time. I am working on getting this a bit under control and I see a tiny light at the end of the tunnel. [Sehes]  However, thoughts about ups and downs that automatically come with having a child were constantly on my mind. It is a big decision after all – but a good one for me.

My friend V told me today that I am doing a great job and she loved how I deal with my son. How I am ‘normal’ when raising him. That I am real and not wearing a mask. I liked that. It made me proud. Yes, I can do this. Of course there will be days when it gets more difficult again. Have you ever been in a supermarket with a 2 1/2 year-old child [Thomas: 2 2/1] and he threw a tantrum? Yeah…. that kind of difficult. But guess what, I do manage these situations too by now.  It makes me stronger. It makes us stronger. It makes me ready for the next – whatever this will be. 

I also realized that there is no perfect timing when it comes to kids. There is always something going on in your life. A new job, a new school, a new whatever. And when this is over or done you might consider having a child. Well, let me tell you – there will always be some sort of life or even career reason to tell you that it is not working out. When my son was born, life made room for him. We made room for him and it was all fine. We worked out a plan, took decisions and moved on. Life takes some turns and everything changes in one second sometimes. There are no regrets if it was the right decision to have my son. Ever! It is one of the best things that happened in my life. You know what? You learn to adapt. My advice is just listen to your body. Listen and love your body the way it is. Are you really ready? Do you really want a child? Then take your time, relax and turn the thoughts off. This is how it worked for me. I wish you all a fulfilling journey to make your dreams come true. However they might look.