Bored

I think everyone faces times when they are bored and I am facing a time of that in my life right now. My husband is out of town and has been for a few weeks, I have read so much during school that I don't really feel like reading, and my job doesn't start for a few more days, I can only clean so much and I can't afford to go do anything so here I sit on this stupid computer bored out of my mind so to speak. It is getting ready to rain so I can't go out and swim and all myn friends are busy. Sometimes life just sucks!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish I would have taken a summer class on line then I could have been concentrating on something productive. Well before I go on and on about this subject I will end it before it ends up depressing me, surely I can find something construtive to do. I hope!!!

Chicago 2010

These are just a few of the pictures from my trip to Chicago. I didn't take any of the trade show that we went to just of the site seeing that we did the day before we left. Chicago is a beautiful city, it reminds me of New York. It has a great park, awesome shopping and of course the lake is beautiful. I love the sky line of the city, the architecture and the people are friendly. Chicago like New York has a lot of culture which is very refreshing for me. We walked all around the city, ate at a great place called the House of Blues on our last night. There are a lot of fabulous places to eat.

We were all exhausted after walking the city on Sunday, but it was worth every step that we took. I am looking forward to going back again, but this time with my husband, we love exploring cities together.

Shay and I caravaned to Chicago with some others from our culinary classes. During this trip we bonded and forged friendships, which is really awesome because we have several classes together next semester. We plan on meeting over the summer as well. Shay and I came back on our own yesterday, stopping at a huge Harley Davidson store on our way back. We made good time and had great weather for traveling. Loved the trip but I am glad to be home. We all plan to go to another convention next year, we just have to decided where we want to go.

I am so glad that I have chosen this field, even if it is later in life. I am learning so much and Chicago just added to my education.

New York Here I Come

I am off to one of my favorite places, New York!!!! I still have a few weeks before I fly out and I will fly in and see the skyline of my favorite city. By the time I arrive my husband will have been in New York for over three weeks, so I will really be glad to see him. I love being in the city, the architecture is amazing, the skyline is breath taking, especially at night.



When you are in the city you can't help but feel like you are experiencing the world with all the different cultures that are represented there. Foods from so many different countries. The people all have their different customs and languages and yet there are similarities as well. I could just wander the streets in the city for hours, looking in the different shops, neighborhoods and restaurants. In the city no matter what you are wearing you are in fashion, it is the one place in this world where you are allowed to be yourself. You can walk down one block and you will see people dressed to the hilt and others will have pink, green or some other color of hair, covered in tatoos and they each belong. Going to the village is a great place to see people express there art, through paintings, sculpture or even jewelry. There is just so much to see.

One of the things that is great to do is to go through the museums or even the botanical gardens as there are several to choose from. Having choices for different broadway shows is incredible. There is one restaurant in the city where the food is absolutely amazing, we ate there a couple of years ago before we went to a show featuring Martin Short, the name of the restaurant is Bon 45. We had the most amazing meal, our waiter was absolutely the best at what he did and I had the best glass of white wine I have ever had to date. It was a great experience.

New York has great bagels and the shopping is something that you just have to experience. We lived in New York seven years ago and while I enjoyed it I love it more when I can just go and visit because I appreciate all that it has to offer so much more. Although there are things about it that I miss because here in Missouri there is just not a lot to do. I know that eventually we will end up moving, I know it won't be until I finish Culinary School and I hope that it ends up being somewhere warm.

While in the City I will blog more about what I experience this trip and maybe post a couple of pictures. I am so looking forward to going and now to begin to decide what I am going to take with me.

I do know that while I am there I will be visiting some different deli's to get more ideas of what we want to do when we open our own place. This is going to be an incredible trip.

My old room was:

My old room was done in antique furniture, you know the kind with the huge mirror and vanity and drawers on either side. The wood was dark, mahogony in color and then there was a chest of drawers with 2 doors on the top that opened and that is where I keep all of my specials treasures: my journals, perfumes, favorite doll and of course special pieces of jewelry from my grandmothers. My great grandmother gave me powders that came in these metal cans with an opening on top full of small holes for the powder to come out and then it had a small metal lid that fit over the opening. My bed was an old wrought iron metal bed with a feather mattress. My bedspread and curtain where white battenburg lace and I had battenburg lace pillows. My room was the perfect place for me to get away to. It was my safe place, the place where I could go and dream, I could be anyone that I wanted to be. I could be rich or poor. I could be a doctor or someones wife. I could go to my room and write all of my wonderful stories. One day I would be a pilot and fly all over the world, the next day I might choose to be an actress and make movies in exotic places. That was the wonderful thing about my old room no matter what was going on around me I could go into my room and dream about all the possibilities. Some days I even dreamed I was a princess with the crown and everything.

My room was an important place for me, for you see out in the real world bad things had happened to me and I needed a place to go to be safe to escape all of the ugliness that I had been introduced to. I needed to be someone different from who I was and that is why my room was such a special place for me. I can still remember the smell of my room, the smell of the wood, you know it had that old smell. I can still remember the smell of the powders. I threw away all of my old journals because they were full of pain and ugliness and I didn't want anyone to read them.

Today I have a new room and it is just as special. It has new furniture and the colors in my room are gold, coral and some bronze and neutral colored carpet and walls that match and my journals well they are all over the house. I write in different ones about all kinds of things, these days I don't care who reads my journals they are full of hopes, dreams and the healing from all the pain I expereinced as a child. My new room I share with my husband and it is a place of peace and of love. I still go to my room and dream about all the possibilities that are before me and I know that I can be whoever I want to be, the possibilities are endless. Today I can go into my room and dream about the goals that I am setting for myself knowing that they are attainable. Today when I go into my room I take myself and I stay myself, I don't have to pretend to be someone else. Oh in this life you will always experience pain but now the pain doesn't control me anymore, today it propels me towards continued healing.

For those of you who have just read the story, it is a story, with some truth mixed in.

Sunshine

The sun is shining, the birds are singing and there is a nice breeze this morning. I am sitting here at the dining room table with the windows open listening to nature and having a wonderful cup of coffee. I am mentally preparing a list of all that I hope to accomplish today. I have paid the bills and they are ready for the mailbox. I have laundry started, so next on the list is the kitchen and then my room and then the floors. After I have finished my inside list I am going outside to plant my herbs. There is nothing better than cooking with fresh herbs. I still need to get some terragon, savory and thyme. I love the smell of the herbs, especially basil.

I love summer, warm weather and the water. I probably should live in Florida or some island where it is warm all the time, because I really don't like winter. When I was in the Army I was stationed in Washington State where it rains alot, although I survived while I was there going up on Mt Rainer, cleaning up after Mt St Helen, I still prefer the warmth. I love the ocean, the sound it makes as it is coming in. It reminds me of the power of the Holy Spirit. I love the vastness of the ocean. I can stand and look out at the ocean for hours. I can spend hours on the beach just listening or reading a book. I love to take walks on the beach, especially with my husband. If all goes well I will be going to New York in a few weeks and we will go walking on the beach.

Life is good when the sun comes out. I know that we need rain, I wish it would rain while we are sleeping and the sun could be out when we are awake, but I guess that would only happen in a perfect world and while we are part of this world, perfect is just our own ideas and perceptions.

Well, as much as I would love to just sit here and write today I do have things that need to be done and while I am motivated to get them done I had better get started. I hope everyone that stops by to share my ramblings will enjoy today as much as I intend to.

Love to you all and may God's face shine upon yours.

Bored

Here I was looking forward to the semester to be over and to have a break and I am bored. With the rain I can't hang outside, my husband is working in New York and my job hasn't started yet. I don't feel like reading right now, it is to hot to crochet and I can't go walking, so here I sit bored.

Tomorrow I can look forward to laundary, cleaning house and weather permitting I am going for a nice long leisurely walk. I am going to enjoy the sunshine. I probably should have taken one class this summer. There really isn't anything on TV worth watching, it is a bunch of brain numbing nonsense. I should be able to plant my herbs and vacuum the pool. None of this sounds all that fun, but at least I will have some things to keep me busy. Maybe I will choose a writing prompt and write a story, that is not something that I usually do. Who knows it could be the start of a book or a short story.

Tough Times

It still seems to be the season for tough times. Our government, well that is a whole other blog. But our economy is still down, so much so my husband has had to travel to another state to work, he has been gone for a week already and I am so bored I can hardly stand it, usually when he is gone I have much to do and I enjoy my time alone, not so much this time. I will be glad when things in our country turn around so that families won't have to struggle the way they are now. I hope when my husband returns that he will have plenty of work and won't have to go elsewhere to work. I am thankful for my trip coming up this week-end because then I will be busy and with several people from school. Well that is all have have to say on this subject tonight, it is time to go to sleep.

Rain

Rain, Rain go away come back another day. I do believe that we have had enough rain, our pool is about to over flow, I may have to go backwash it in the rain. I am so ready for some sunshine and really warm weather and oh, some blue sky would be wonderful. Our back yard is full of water, our puppies don't want to go outside to do their business, so it is a wee wee pad day.

I love the rain and I know that it is good for our garden, we have already gotten spinach out of, but I wish some of the rain would wait until it is starting to get dry this summer. I do love the smell after the rain, everything smells so fresh and clean. The grass is greenier, our trees and flowers look awesome. Even with the rain as I sit here on the couch and look out the livingroom window the front yard is beautiful, our Weeping Willow is full and lush, our Dogwood is blooming and our Japenese Maples are full, you can't even see through the leaves, the color is such a deep dark redish burgundy.

The colors in the rainbows are awesome, plus the rainbow reminds us of the covenant that God gave to us of never flooding the world again and of course that promise holds so much more. I hope to see one today. I hope the rain moves out soon. I guess this is one way to get my car washed, but I really would love to be able to sit outside and journal, drink a glass of iced tea and just ponder my future.

Rain is a good thing, but I think that we have had enough for now, come on sunshine!!!!!

Chicago

Next week Shay and I leave for Chicago for 4 days for the National Restaurant Association Show, there is going to be so much to see, so much information to gather, people to meet, I am really looking forward to going. We are also going with a group of people from school so we will have a great time. A few of us are leaving early and going to the Arch and the casino before continuing our journey.

After the NRA Shay and I are going to do a little site seeing while we are there. We are going to google and see exactly what we want to see and maybe do a little shopping. I know that we will get to eat some really good food which I am looking forward to.

Next year the NRA event is in Las Vegas so we are already planning on going, hopefully our husbands will be able to go with us, it could be a great little get away.

Hopefully when I come back from Chicago I will have alot to blog about. I hope we are able to find vendors that we want to work with and get a chance to look at equipment that we could possibly put into our business.

Hopes and Dreams

Most of us have hopes and dreams. I know that I do. I am going to school in order to pursue one of my hopes, one of my dreams. I just finished my first year of culinary arts. I still have at least 3 semesters to go, already I have learned alot and in the process have learned that I have much more to learn. I love to cook and have always wanted to experiment more than I have, but sometimes the budget dictates what you can do. This summer I plan on practicing on my family and friends, so that I am more prepared for next semester. I have purchased a couple of books that I plan on reading this summer, especially when I am out by the pool.

In the midst of all of my hopes and dreams is a little bit of fear but I plan on doing it afraid. My daughter and I want to open a particular type of deli, we already have most of the menu planned, the decor, the employee manual and a few other things, so we are getting ourselves ready. What happens if we can't open our own place because of the economy or other reasons, then we have a great skill to use in other places. With this type of training we can live anywhere.

I really do want to see out place become a success and fill a niche that no one else around here is filling. There are foods from the east coast that I miss and that I would really like to share with this area. I hope to see things change in the future so that our economy is better so that our dream can become a reality.

Finals

I think whoever came up with the idea that students needed to take finals and to have more stress added to their lives must of had a hole in their head. What do finals really accomplish??? It really isn't an accurate view of what the students have learned through the semester. Why do I say that well because most students are memorizing the information, going to go regurgitate it up onto the final and walk away and not remember half of what they just wrote on the final. However if you take that same student and put things in a more practical sense you would find that they have learned alot throughout the semester.

For example I am having to memorize a sauce chart half of the names which I can't even pronounce, have no idea how to make them and yet it is part of my final, now I ask you what sense does that make, what is that really contributing to my education, now if you wanted me to demonstrate what I have learned in class I could do that I could write a paper about what I have learned. Oh, I will study and do my best on the finals, but they still make absolutely no sense to me. I am watching my daughter trying to juggle work, school, studying for finals, take care of her husband and daughter and then trying to find 5 minutes a day just for herself and she needs to memorize information that she is not going to remember like we all need another hole in the head. Sometimes I do wonder what the hell people were thinking when they put all of this together.

It is true not all instructors are teachers. Here I am paying to learn so that I can change my life and I have instructors that aren't concerned about what I have learned but they are concerned with the next test that I am to take, there really is something wrong with this picture, with this system. I think the system needs to be more concerned with making sure I learned that false testing and a GPA. I take the testing seriously, I have already taken one final and I aced it and because of that instructor he tested us over things that we actually learned. I have to take a math final on wednesday and I have been given so many different formulas sometimes 2 or 3 a week over the last 15 weeks and I am suppose to remember all of them, plus how to change my calculator back and forth, it saddens me to say that when that test is over half of what I am cramming for will be lost, it is a damn good thing that I have a great accountant.

Well I guess this is enough of this, can you tell I have spent most of my day studying and wondering just exactly how this is helping me. What will you find me doing tomorrow on Mother's day, well after I cook lunch for my mom and mother-in-law I will be spending the rest of the day studying, for you see I have not 1 but 3 finals on Monday, yeah for me. God help me!!!

I honestly don't see the purpose in the way they have things set up because it is not a true compass for what we really know. This is my opinion and I stand by it.

Reflection

This has been a good experience for me. I have enjoyed using writing prompts, they have helped when I just felt devoid of anything to write about. Because of my schedule I couldn't write at the same time everyday, but my best time of all were in the mornings, I wish I could work on my computer outside because I seem to reflect best when I am outside. I am learning to write about things from different perspectives. This experience has caused me to draw from different areas of myself. I don't blog well when I am sick, which happened to me this last week-end.

I intend to keep blogging and improving my writing skills. I will also continue to use writing prompts to challenge myself. I think this would have been a better experience for me if I didn't have so many other classes and could have had more time to blog. I do have my journals that I am writing in as well and they have changed. Now I have my blog, my prayer journal and my personal journal which will be for my husband and my family to share when I have left this earth.

I am thankful for this experience I know that it will continue to benefit me throughout the rest of my life.

Wow

Here we are at the end of another semester and I am at the end of blogging as part of an assignment, from here on I will be blogging because I want to, who knows what I will write about but I am sure that I will continue. Over the summer I hope to have more time to blog, since I won't have assignments to do on top of it. I know my writings are changing, even my thought process is changing, this has been a good thing for me.

Food Poisoning

I went to Art Walk yesterday and while we were out we went to a local restaurant where I had a chicken sandwich and shortly there after I was sick, I ended up spending the rest of the day in bed and most of today, not the way I wanted to spend my weekend, especially since I really needed to study for my finals that are coming up. I hope to never have food poisoning again, it totally ruins things. I sure didn't want any chicken today and maybe not for several days. Well that is all that I have to say on this subject.