Give and Take

It has been said that the Lord giveth and he taketh away. He can do it with may things like talents, money, people and lets not forget love. Of course I am talking about my relationship with Brett. The Lord did bless me, for a time, with a loving man who thought I was beautiful, smart, funny, (need I go on) and then He decided it was no longer necessary and that I needed to work on a few other things. I don't know the reasons, and believe me I have asked, but I have to trust that He knows what is better for me and that some day I will understand. I have to have patience that my time for marriage and family will come. I have to have faith and hope that I will be able to make the correct choices to let my heart heal and properly move forward. Most of all I need to be proactive and get back out there and continue to improve myself to become who I need to be for when I do meet that someone. Brett was a stepping stone and I am truly grateful for the "issues" he helped me overcome. He helped me become a better me and if we could all do that the world would be a much better place. I have had a small sample of what a loving relationship could be like and I so look forward to the whole enchilada!!

I am a BELIEVER!

I have no doubt that we have all heard the stories of how couples met and fell in love. I know that after my marriage and divorce that I was a sceptic on Love and finding someone of my own. I see my friends and others around me dating, finding people they are wanting to spend time with and get to know, or even getting married. At the beginning of this year I was thinking here we go again! Another year alone with no interests and no dates. I finally gave in and decided to focus on my career and improving myself. That is when everything started to happen! All about the same time I was offered my new job I was also starting body boot camp which has been more fun that the name implies. I was about to start changing the outside of me as well as the inside.

As is almost everyone now a days I am on Facebook. We all have those friends who we add to our friends that we do indeed know from some point in our lives but that we never talk or send messages to. There are many of mine that fall into that category but one particular has found new meaning in my life. His name is Brett and I had the biggest crush on him in high school. He had a girl friend at the time and we were friends but it never went anywhere. I did manage to ask him to one high school dance and we had a blast. It was our first and last date!

As in my last post my life has changed in many ways the past few months and I was always updating my status on Facebook which happen to catch the attention of Brett. He had been through some changes in his life too, so he decided to send me a email to catch up with a friend. I was of course surprised to get his message but excited at the same time. I had looked at his page before but had never tried to make contact. I just figured he was married had a family and a life in Spokane. In his message He asked me how life was and what I was up to. I was polite and answered and didn't expect to hear back with the answers to my questions for him. Brett responded and informed me that he too had been through a divorce and that the circumstances were very similar to mine. He gave me his number and told me to give him a call if I ever wanted to talk. I told him because of the new job I was so busy that I didn't even talk to my friend at the moment so I gave him my number and told him to call me. He did and we talked for over 3 hours. The minute I heard his voice I was instantly taken to back to high school and memories of him. The voice was the same, very familiar and it was very easy to talk to him. When we finally decided to hang up he asked if he could call me the next weekend and I said sure. The days that followed were filled with lots of flirty text messages. When the next weekend rolled around Brett called and we talked again for several hours. We both knew that something was starting to develop but didn't know where it would go because of the fact that he lived in Washington and I lived in Utah. I joked and said that my bosses would not let me go and that he would have to move down here if this was going to turn into something more. He began to toy with the idea of moving down here so that he could have a better support system for when he decided to go back to school. I thought if he we continued this way on the phone for 3 almost 4 months until he gets here and then try to answer all of the questions and concerns that I had that it could potentially be a waste of time if nothing were to happen. That is when I had the idea to go and visit for conference weekend. I told my new bosses of my plan and they were so excited for me that they gave me Monday off so I could take my time coming home and spend two full days with Brett and the boys. When I mentioned the idea to Brett he was excited but nervous just like me. I never had any doubt from the minute that I decided to go that this was the wrong decision.

I hit the road Friday night at 5 p.m. and drove through the night and got to Spokane at 5 a.m. After a good nights sleep I got up and went and met Jacob and Cody. I was given a tour of the city and was introduced to all of Brett's friends. We then went grocery shopping to buy ingredients for pizza. I told Cody I would teach him how to make pizza. We made the dough and I showed him how to through the dough in the air to stretch it. We followed that with sauce, cheese, and toppings all of which were put on by Jacob and Cody. We all had fun and the pizza was delicious!

Sunday morning I was the first one up so I went in the front room and turned on conference. As everyone else started waking up they slowly started coming in the front room. The boys looked through their Easter baskets and we had a small egg hunt. After conference was over we all went for a bike ride around the neighborhood. Spokane is a beautiful city reminds me of a combination of Seattle and Salt Lake. Sunday night, after the boys were in bed, Brett and I had the chance to ask some of the questions that were on our mind and talk about some of the concerns we both had. It was a wonderful experience to be able to sit and talk freely with out worrying if the other person was going to answer back or just sit and stare at you and say nothing. When I left on Monday morning Brett and I knew that there was something that was worth working on and soon after he made the decision to move down to Utah.
We are loving the experience of getting to know one another again even if, for now, it is over the phone. We are making plans for the future and it looks very bright. I thank my Father in Heaven for the blessing of bringing Brett back in to my life. He even comes with a bonus, 2 wonderful boys that I am looking forward to getting to know better.

Festival of Colors 2010

It is that time of year again where thousands and thousands of people flock to the Krishna temple in Spanish Fork to celebrate the Festival of Colors.

This is me and my friend Lyndall waiting for the fun to begin. People will often walk by you and say you are to clean to be there and throw a hand full of powder at you. This is what we looked like at the very beginning with very little color!!

The sad thing is that the count down was not even close. We still had an hour before it started and we were looking like we belonged in a circus!

I don't know what happened in this picture but it looks like lyndall is screaming at the colors creeping out of her bag.

This is a shot of the temple and the crowd that had started to gather as the countdown grew closer.

People just could not wait and started early.

For a big group of college students (BYU) they didn't follow directions very well and had a hard time counting down with the band on stage.

This is what it looked like as they counted down 3,2,1....... The colors started flying and people were pushing, at first it was beautiful but then.......................................

It started to grow darker..................................................................

and darker.......................................................

Until it almost looked like it was night time. It was cramped, hard to breath and very loud!!

Last year I was late and was only able to see the colors from the outside and wondered what it would be like to be in the middle of the crowd. I found that out this year and now that I have experienced it from both perspectives I am content and will probably not go back next year. I am to old for that kind of crowd!!

If you want to see a video of what it looked like I found this on YouTube. Someone other than myself was willing to sacrifice their camera.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKVemFU7FoI&feature=related

This is what we looked like when all was said and done!!! You turn almost BLACK because the colors just mix together!

Just one of many Changes

Most young chefs stay at a particular place for a maximum of 3 years. The more you move around the more you learn and grow. If you really make this profession your life can be very exciting. I have never been one to follow that rule. If I find a place I like I get comfortable and stay for as long as I can. I worked at my last catering company for 9 almost 10 years. I worked with the same executive chef who has been there for 11 almost 12 years. We worked so well together that he called me his second wife. Most of the time we fought like we were brother and sister but could also complete each others sentences. He and I had telepathetic skills!! We were an amazing team along with the other prep chefs in the kitchen. They were my second family!
Back in February, after being back in Seattle for the fourth time in four months, I was debating on whether to go back to Seattle or back to school. I just had a feeling like I needed to tweak something in my life. Honestly I was leaning toward Seattle, but he Lord had a different idea. I have been attending a singles ward since back in July and I knew that is where I needed to be. I was thinking it would be a great way to meet people to start dating and living my life again after my divorce. I believe that was true but it also put me in the path of a person that I needed to meet as well. His name is Hal Porter. Hal or Brother Porter is the high council Representative over our ward and just happens to own a catering company. When I found this out I approached him and introduced myself to him as a fellow caterer and thought that would be the end of things. In late January I was given a new calling that required me to go to ward council. In my first meeting I ended up sitting next to Brother Porter. He kept looking at me through the whole meeting and asked my what my last name was. I wondered what was up and when the meeting was over he asked me if I would have a minute to talk with him about non-church things. We met in the hall and he asked my if all chefs had a certain attitude. I said yes and that most of them have huge ego's and feel very entitled. Hal then told me that they were having a hard time finding a head chef that fit their business and then asked me if I would consider taking the position. I said that I would and I did. As soon as he asked me to talk to him I had a feeling like something was about to happen.
I went in a week later and talked with Hal and his wife who run the business together, took a tour of their kitchen and met a few of the employees. I expressed interest and they said they would have an offer for me at the beginning of the week. When the phone call came I was excited but knew what had to happen next. Three words that most employers don't like to hear- two week notice! My bosses face went from shock, to fear, then to panic. It was a very emotional two weeks and my last day was the hardest. I knew I was making the right decision but hated leaving at the same time.
I have now been at my new place for two weeks and am really loving it. The Lord has blessed me with so many wonderful things and get this, all I had to do was ASK!

Christmas in Seattle

This year I was blessed with opportunity to go home for Christmas. Thanksgiving came and went (also spent in Seattle) and after a few crazy, busy weeks at work I was once again on a plane heading for Seattle. Two times in less than a month. This was a record even for me.

I was excited to be back and even more ready for all of the family traditions that I usually got to participate in over the phone. First up, baking day. I am sure this is a day that many families have and I just would not be the holidays without. This year my mom decided to try at least 4 different kinds of cookies that are not usually the list. Tuesday morning we wake up, we load up the car with boxes of flour, sugar, sprinkles, red hots, frosting, cookie cutters, cocoa powder, butter, nuts of kind and then we packed the kids. This year instead of cramming all 13 of the grandkids in to grandmas little kitchen, Carrie offered up her home and double ovens. We all have experience the pace that is set when there is only one oven and 6 or 7 sheets of goodies to bake. This really sped up the process!!!!

The older kids were a big help. Alex and Tessa were there until the end mixing and scooping, rolling and cutting, chopping and measuring all with a smile. The younger group,which was being supervised by Miranda, just wanted the sugar cookies to be done so they could frost and sprinkle. Tami made a comment a few hours into the project that I just kept on going and going. This is my job. This is what I do day in and day out. I work until that last thing is baked and put away and this was no different.

We had our traditional Christmas eve dinner of beef and chicken enchiladas, which some of my siblings are growing tired of and wanted something different. They all took pity on me when I said this was another thing I was looking forward. We had almost everyone in the same house laughing, talking and enjoying the season. These are the times you always knew would come when you were a child. Everyone grown up with kids of their own in one place for Christmas, I love the feeling and it is even better than I thought it could be.

My nephew Alex loves to cook. I had decided before I left Utah that I wanted to have a cooking day with him. I wanted to think of something fun and different that I could make with him for his family. My friend and boss at work says that his girls love to make gnocchi. I thought that was fantastic idea (Gnocchi are potato dumplings).

The first thing I did when I got home was google "gnocchi boards" to see if any local stores had them in stock. I was in luck, the sur la table in Seattle by the pike place market had them. I asked my dad if he would not mind stopping in and picking one up on his way home from work. He said "send me a text to remind me." So I did and it is a good thing to because when he got to the store he had no idea how to pronounce the work gnocchi. If I had not sent him the text he would have been wondering he store for a while. He ended up showing the sales clerk the text and she knew right away what it was.

I gave Alex the gnocchi board Christmas morning and told him that I wanted to make it with him one night before I left. No one in my brothers family has had gnocchi before except for his wife so this would be a new experience for them all. I showed Alex how to multi task by making the sauce and a salad while the potatoes were cooking. We went through all the steps to make, I must say was nice and light gnocchi. It was a wonderful opportunity to be able to share my love of food with Alex and share the evening with my brother and his family with out all of the other nieces and nephews running around. Since I don't live up there I feel like I have not been able to be a part of their lives and get to know the as thy grow up. My brother has wonderful kids and I know he could not do it with out Carrie. I must say all of my siblings have done very well with their spouses and families.