Was it worth it? September 12, 2010

…yes it was.

Lately, I have been getting asked a lot if culinary school was worth it. Did I get out of it everything I was hoping to get out of it? Did I learn everything I wanted to learn? Did it help me on my career path? The answer to all these questions is yes. It has been worth it. I did get everything I was hoping to get out of it. I learned MORE than I was expecting. And it has most definitely helped me on my career path.

I know there are people who will disagree with me. There are people who think it was a waste of money, or that they could have done something better with their time. There are people who think that culinary school is pointless because the only way to REALLY gain experience is by getting out there and working. And I agree with that. The only way to gain restaurant experience is by working in a restaurant. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t prepare myself for that experience. It doesn’t mean that I can’t do everything in my power to ensure that when I do step into the kitchen I am prepared with all the confidence and knowledge I can muster.

Don’t get me wrong… just because I finish school doesn’t mean I finish learning. I’ll never be done learning. But I will be able to learn more efficiently and more effectively if I have the basics of the industry under my belt. If I already know the foundations of classical cooking techniques then I won’t need to spend time learning them “in the field.” Instead I can focus on honing my techniques and exploring my creativity. Instead of spending time learning how to properly braise, poach, roast, or grill, I can spend time experimenting with flavors and experiencing different food pairings.

But that’s not the only reason I am happy I decided to go to culinary school. It taught me about more than just food. I learned about myself and what I really want out of life. I learned that I am completely capable of doing anything I set my mind to. I learned that (although I am small) I am strong. I learned that you will only get out of life what you put into it. It taught me that the harder you sweat the more rewarding it will be in the end (I also learned that I don’t mind sweating because it is the outward manifestation of the passion and fire I feel in my heart when I am in the kitchen.) And, beyond all that, it quietly and humbly taught me how to make something out of nothing. I learned that when all we can afford to buy is flour, eggs, and butter I can still make some bad ass pasta (and for that I will always be thankful). And ultimately I learned that I have found what I am meant to be doing. What a wonderful feeling it is to know I belong. To know that what I am working so hard for is right. To know that in finding what I want to do for the rest of forever, in finding the thing that makes me the most happy when I am doing it, I have come home.

So yes, ladies and gentlemen, it has been hard. It has been expensive. Some of you might not agree with it. Some of you might think it’s not worth it. But without a doubt it was completely worth it for me because I decided to make it worth my while. And I will never regret my decision. Thank you culinary school. Thank you Le Cordon Bleu.

Cheers.

Letters… September 5, 2010

…to everyone. (ok, maybe not everyone. But, letters to some people)

Dear Husband,

I miss you so much it hurts me sometimes. I know the distance is only temporary and that we will be together again soon. But the time between then and now seems infinite. I keep saying this, but I am just so proud of everything you are accomplishing. Today my dad bought a scratch of ticket and let me do the scratching. We didn’t win anything. But with a loving heart and a wisdom beyond anything that you and I can comprehend right now, my mother said that we (you, me, us) have already won just by doing what we’re doing. The greatest prize has been your acceptance into Boston University. And I intend to cherish that gift for the rest of my life. I love you.

Dear Mom,

Thank you for understanding. I know you’ve already been through everything that I am going through now and I will always be grateful for that. You are such an amazing mother, teacher, and friend. I have learned more from you than I have in any other classroom or text book. You are one of the smartest people I have ever met (contrary to popular belief lol) And I only hope that one day I will be able to be as caring and patient a mother as you are. I love you.

Dear Sister-in-Law,

I could not have asked for a better person to become family with than you. It is your support and complete understanding that has helped Joey succeed not only academically, but personally as well. He loves you with all his heart. And so do I. I appreciate everything you have taught him and everything you have taught me. I thank you for making me the god-mother to your son and a valued member of your family. I promise I will never let you down. It is with complete sincerity and love that I can drop the “in-law” from your title and call you my Sister. I love you.

Dear Little Sister (the one in college),

I am so proud of you. Although for a very long time you were a pain in my behind (teehee) I am very blessed to have been able to watch you  grow into the caring person you are today. I hope you have the best time ever in college. I also hope you stay safe and remember that I am only a phone call away. I have learned a lot from you (whether you believe it or not). The poise and maturity with which you handle situations echo the poised and mature woman you have become. Please never let that echo fade. I love you.

Dear Littlest Sister (the one in high school),

Congratulations! You have officially taken over as the newest member of pain in my behind (lol) But what kind of little sister would you be if you didn’t annoy me every now and then? All annoyance aside, I am in awe every day with how much you have grown. You have a patience and a knowledge well beyond your fourteen years of life (which can be scary for me at times). You are smarter and more talented than I could have ever been at your age. I hope you never let that talent go. I know that you will accomplish great things. I feel it in my bones. Never lose sight of who you are and where you come from. I will always be here to support you. I love you.

Dear Dad,

Please don’t take this the wrong way, but thank you for allowing me to learn from your mistakes. It is the mark of a great father when you can admit the things you did wrong, acknowledge that you are not perfect and have made errors, and then share those errors with your daughters so that they don’t make the same ones. I’m sorry if sometimes I still do make the same ones. I’m working on it. You are the hardest worker I know. Thank you for pushing me to succeed. And thank you for being the person who understands me the most. I love you.

Dear Family, Friends, and Those Who Have Taught me,

From the very bottom of my heart, Thank you. I am the combined efforts of everyone I have ever met. So any success I achieve is a direct result of your love and support. I love you.

*and to those I have yet to meet. To the people whose paths I have yet to cross, I look forward to meeting you. And thank you in advanced for all the things I will undoubtedly learn from you.

I love you.

Cheers.

One person’s trash… September 3, 2010

is MY treasure!

I know I have been slacking horribly on posts. I apologize. It’s not for lack of subject matter. Maybe it’s the sheer amount of subject matter? Is there such a thing as too much stuff to write about? Or, maybe I’ve just been lacking the inspiration and motivation to get it all down. To form it into coherent sentences. To make complete thoughts.

Well, whatever the reason… I’m back. And this is the story about how a little bit of money can take you a long way if you know how to put it to good use.

Joey and I have only ever lived in completely furnished apartments. I’m talking coffee tables, end tables, couches, beds, television stands, and stools. We never had to buy a dining room table or night stands or love seats. You name it and the apartment complexes provided it. Therefore, you can imagine our complete lack of preparation when it came to moving into an entirely unfurnished two-bedroom apartment. We had nothing. And we had no idea where to start.

Luckily for us I come from a very thrifty family. It was because of them we found all the amazing things we came across (or should I say I came across, since Joey still hasn’t personally seen any of the things I bought)…(BUT he did give me complete control when it came to the type of furniture we got therefore if he doesn’t like it he should have thought twice before telling me to buy whatever I wanted!).

Anyway… to make a long story short I bought a sofa, a coffee table/super-awesome-chest, an antique lamp, a dining room table that seats six, six dining room chairs, a full-sized mattress, a full-sized headboard and footboard for said mattress, a vanity and mirror, a small hutch for the kitchen, an absolutely amazing larger hutch for the dining room, and the most beautiful quilt made by a ninety-seven year old lady named Stella (whom I love, even if I never met her). I also inherited a television stand and dresser from my grandmother and an orange chair that has been in my family for years from my grandfather.

This all added up to a grand total of about 

$2,000

$1,000

$500

$300 

$250!

 That’s right ladies and gentlemen, you heard it here first. I got ALL that stuff for the small sum of two-hundred and fifty buckaroos. And not only did I get it all at an unbelievably amazing price, but they are all such beautiful things. By looking at newspapers for estate sales and garage sales and cruising Craigslist day-in and day-out we were able to find the right objects at the right time. My mom, aunt, and grandmother even walked out with a few things of their own.

Now, to anybody else the stuff might have looked like junk to start out with. But it’s amazing what a little bit of cleaning, some paint, a few extra screws, and a couple of dollars worth of new fabric can do to a piece of furniture. Our stuff looks great, and nobody (and by nobody I mean nobody except all of you, haha) will know how little it really cost us.

You see… it’s not always about finding the newest piece of furniture or the priciest rug or the most lavish decorations that will ultimately make your house yours. But it’s about finding that piece of furniture that calls out to you. It’s about coming across that one thing that you see and you know you can’t live without. That you can fix and change to be your own and that you can love forever because it’s yours (or that you can love forever because of the love others have already put into it).

 In my opinion, that’s what makes a house perfect. And those are the things that will make our house a home.

So thank you mom, thank you tia, thank you abuela, and thank you Stella.

Cheers.

Growing together… August 12, 2010

…as we grow apart?

Is that even possible?

I don’t mean “growing apart” in the negative sense of the term. Even though Joey and I are over a thousand miles away we are closer than we have ever been. What I mean by growing apart is growing as an individual. What I’m struggling with (and I’m sure many other couples are struggling with as well) is finding the perfect balance between doing what is right for me versus doing what is right for us. Don’t get me wrong… most of the time what’s right for the both of us suits me just fine. But every now and then it comes down to deciding if I should focus my energy on who I want to become as a person, or who I want us to become as a couple. And those two wants don’t always see eye to eye.

I think the biggest challenge will come when I am finally finished with school and I move up to Boston to be with Joey. I know his main focus is studying (as it should be), and that I will be putting in many hours at work and into learning more about the culinary industry. And I am so happy that we will both finally be doing what we are meant to be doing. I know we will learn so much from this experience and I think this experience will help us find ourselves. But, this leaves me wondering when we will have time to find each other. The greatest hardship will come from finding the precious little moments when we will be able to just be together. I am terrified that we will be so busy living our own separate lives that we will forget what it feels like to live our life together.

I have all the faith in the world in my relationship and in my husband. And I don’t want anybody to thing that I am questioning that. I am just struggling with the need to stretch my wings in a new city and still enjoy the flight with the one I love.

Am I being selfish in wanting this?

I don’t think I am. I think it’s good and healthy for a couple to want to grow as one in their relationship while at the same time preserving the things that make them individuals. I just can’t seem to get the hang of it.

Cheers.

Note to self… August 9, 2010

…write more notes to self.

Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned about writing a blog it’s that I have no problem coming up with really awesome ideas for posts… but I DO have a problem remembering those really awesome ideas for posts.

You see, when I’m driving down Interstate 4 with the sun just beginning to make an appearance and an hour before I get to school, I hit all kinds of epiphanies. I come up with witty one-liners and deep, meaningful metaphors for all the crazy, jumbled-up thoughts in my head. And I just can’t wait to get home so I can put pen to paper! (or rather… finger tips to keyboard?) And then I DO get home and what do I have?

Crazy, jumbled-up thoughts.

No deep, meaningful metaphors.

No witty one-liners.

Nothing.

And that is why I need to start writing this stuff down! Because I promise it’s really good stuff. I know I’m capable of having cool and interesting posts that everyone can relate to. That everyone wants to read. I just need to remember what I want to say in those posts. Because the post won’t write itself.

I also need to find a way to get my blog “out there.” What I mean by that is, although I love that my mom checks the site everyday to see if I’ve written something new (even though she subscribes and will get an e-mail if and when I DO update), and even though I appreciate my little sisters making their boyfriends read that I got an old couch from a thrift store for $30, I want the average blog surfer to come across my site and be interested in what they see.

Maybe this all stems back to me forgetting my ground-breaking idea’s. Maybe if I wrote about my life-changing thoughts more people will want to read. Or maybe I just need to put in the leg work and start networking (which sounds exhausting but might just need to be done).

Either way something’s got to change. For blogging’s sake.

Cheers