I am in fricken bootcamp.

Okay, I go up this morning at 8:30 their time, had breakfast, we chatted, and then went right to the sugar shack to work. She (Lindsay) has about a 1/2 acre of plowed field that we were working in today. I am officially a redneck (no comments ASS). They also have these flies here that bite and actually draw blood. You would love em Bob. We were working in the fields, swatting flies, and getting burnt all day...I put sunscreen on but forgot to get the back of my arms and that space above your pants where your shirt lifts up...yep, I have a nice little strip.
I am having a blast though. Everyone should do a vacation like this. These girls are great and will be great for me. They don't eat wheat, they have 3 sensible meals a day, they follow a routine, it's great. I feel like when I am done with the next couple of days, I will have had a REALLY good workout.
I totally understand now the vision. You see, where we are is totally rural. There aren't really grocery stores around. There are tons of boutique stores, bed and breakfasts, 'Inns', si resorts and fruit stands. So, Lindsay is opening a gourmet fruit stand. It makes total sense in this area. We are going on a hunt for good maple candy tomorrow along with a lot more planting of herbs. Today we made super long mounds for squashes and then planted sunflowers, cantaloupe, watermelon, fava beans, green beans, snap peas, corn, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, acorn squash and pumpkins...oh yeah, clover and wildflowers too but that was easy. She had this cart thingy that spins out the seeds as you walk with it. It was hard work but TOTALLY rewarding. We got so much done.
I will let you know tomorrow how I feel, I have a feeling my back is going to hurt and these bites are going to itch.
We had a yummy salad with grilled chicken breasts. I feel totally satisfied. What feels really great is just being able to collaborate and brainstorm about food. I love that and once we get going, we get excited...okay, I will keep you informed as far as the progress goes. Hopefully I will get some pictures soon, we just need Frazier to get the program up on the computer and then we can.
Talk to you all soon!

'an artist is never poor.'


wow. so true.

2nd day of summer break and I have to be to work at 8:30 to do who knows what for who knows how much. I remember last summer...making like $8.00 an hour there. wow. thanks.
I don't even ask anymore because then it would get weird and I certainly don't work there because I need to...ya know...so, I just do it and have fun and then come home and feel really good about food, in a way I don't feel for about 10 months out of the year. I can't really explain it in any other way.

Tonight we had sean and ar and aidan over for the first time since spring break! Damn, what a long time to go without even talking. we just get so into routine it's scary. It was fun though, nothing has changed The house was just as messy too. I had been working all day to do these damn sample cakes that I offer. I would love to be able to put a picture up but I have no way to download them right now.

I am in Vermont. I have been traveling all day and I am pretty tired. It is only 9. The flights were crazy. I have not traveled by myself since I went to France and well, for those of you that know me, I don't like to fly much. So, the first flight started off awesome. We watched an incredibly stupid movie called 'failure to launch', dumb but watchable...then, it started getting bumpy and the seatbelt sign came on. The captian came on and said, "stewardesses, please take your seats immediately." So, of course I get freaked out. But we land fine after I am sweating and white knuckling it in the whole way. I swear, we landed on just one wheel too because the plane was totally tilted. I found myself leaning to the right like that would actually make a difference...funny.
Once inside Chicago's airport, I found that my gate was like 6 gates away. So, I didn't get to go into the tunnel of neon which would have been cool. Oh well.
When I was waiting for the plane, I was sitting across from this adorable couple that was so sweet. They were ofcourse younger than me (everyone is younger than me these days) and were just so into each other...well, when boarding the plane, I walked past them and he handed her a box. She opened it and it was a little wooden box with blue sand, a sea shell and a giant diamond ring. She said in her broken English, "are you serious?" It was so sweet! I was beaming and I didn't even know them...I was also waiting to hear her answer but there were anxious peeps behind me. It was very cute though and then the captian came on and congratulated them...so she must have said yes.
THEN, like 20 min into the flight, the captian did the same thing..."please take your seats immediately, it is going to be bumpy for atleast the next 10 min." Well, it was. SOOOO bumpy. Where it would do those drops and leave your stomach in your throat...yeah, those. I thought I was bad, there was a woman in front of me crying. Seriously.
I landed, they were late and I didn't care, I was just happy to be on the ground.
On the way home, we stopped at a Red Robin for dinner. Holy Moly, it was totally a chain hamburger kinda place but it was so good. I had chicken just so ya know. Then two hours later we got here and went to bed. They were very tired and so was I.
Okay, since I can't put any pics up, I am signing off for now. I will write more when I can. Miss all of you!

Don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he always wanted.

What happened?

He lived happily ever after.



I am a woman of simple pleasures. Right now, I am happy listening to Amos Lee, sitting in OUR house, watching our cats live a very comfortable life, knowing that I have a good job to drive to tomorrow...all of this after having a lovely dinner with my beautiful family.
Why do I have so many questions? I absolutely cannot wait to be in Vermont in 12 days...seriously. What I think about while my head is in the clouds is "wow, what if I just love it, being there with Lindsay and Frazier and then Mike shows up and looks around and says, 'this is totally do-able' and we decide to come back!" Yeah, I know, but NO ONE has EVER accused me of being grounded and logical. What if???!!! Really. What if it was THAT COOL? Wouldn't that just be amazing? Who can argue with that?
You know what else? I think that this was my hardest year of teaching yet. I know, it was only my third year and it is only going to get harder. BUT, the longer I stay, the more intwined I get with my students. You see, it was my hardest year and yet it was my best. I have met some people that I feel lucky to know. Honestly. I think in my HROP class, I have the most awesome opportunity. I have met some people that have experienced some things in their life that I never have and who have taught me a lot. In that class there is every little aspect of person...does that make sense? I have the jock/religeous kid, the goth girl with the cheating boyfriend, the independant girl living on her own in a trailor...struggling to hang on, there is the adopted girl that has had a seriously hard life...I mean serious..., the girl who's mom was/is a drug addict and now lives with friends of the family, the boy who has a loving family and yet hates them, NW who has a great family life and a good boyfriend and will probably be married at the age of 19 and last but not least, the girl with many siblings that she has to take care of way too often and just can't wait to get as far away from Humboldt as she can! I mean, just hanging out with them is eyeopening. On Friday, I was with one student that helped me with a catering job. I started asking her about her dad...it went a little something like, "so, where's your dad now?" "I don't know, last I heard, Bridgeville"...apparently, this guy has been in and out of jail for all sorts of things and now ignores the fact that he has two daughters. The funny or sad thing is that I could totally relate. My dad knows where to find me. He doesn't though. Why? That is the question we both were asking on Friday...together, this 15 year old and me were asking the same questions...how can a parent have a kid and then just act like they don't exist? Why bother if you can't deal? UGH.
So, I think I have a lot to deal with this summer and yet, I know that at least I do have family that is close and here and willing to be all there is and yet...I still miss him...terribly...sorry. Even though I am 31 and Francisco is...well...however old he is...I KNOW we both get bugged and bothered at the mention of dad's name. Because...no, not everything is "cool" and "alright" and no, we won't always be 'buds' and damn...just call, okay? Look at what you are missing. Okay, so maybe we are a bunch of dorks but still, you can't tell me he has anyone in his life that replaces this...right?
Last weekend, we had fun with HandA! We went to The Pearl Lounge...it was right before the election and it was Arts Alive so it was busy. We ran into MandC and proceeded to have a lovely evening.

Man, have I mentioned how great Damien Rice is? The song "Volcano"? Great song.

How come no one leaves me wonderful, thoughtful comments on my blog?

Mickey's a mouse, Donald's a duck, Pluto's a dog. What's Goofy?

Goofy's a dog. He's definitely a dog.

He can't be a dog. He wears a hat and drives a car.

God, that's weird. What the Hell is Goofy?




On our way home from making food for 200 people, we wanted to take note of how well we were able to maintain our good moods and sense of humor. The only bummer is that the guy taking the picture only got the top of his head, you can see it there at the bottom...and Triscuit only showed us his sleeve...maroon at that...that dang goth...:)

They are a funny bunch of happy kids...