Another day, another dollar?

To start off, I have to say, that working a 10 1/2 hour day 5 days a week, had definitely kept me from posting any new blogs. Thats over. I was recently let go from my job and now I spend a few hours each day, job searching, networking, and posting resumes online. The economy is, as we all know, bad. I will not be homeless, I will never be hungry, and I have anything I truly need. So I am grateful. Keep me in your prayers that I find something sooner rather than later. It is frustrating to be home and trying to keep busy. I have filed for unemployment, and I believe the claim has been approved. Thank you God. I immediately filed my taxes, and again, Thank you God, I have already received my Federal refund. Wooo who!! I keep saying God gives us what we need, when HE thinks we need it. I just have to put in the footwork. On a happier note, I decided several weeks ago to join Weight Watchers. I pay monthly and go to a meeting every wednesday morning. I wont miss the meeting since they are prepaid. I am truly accountable. I get frustrated on mondays and tuesdays and am usually pleasantly suprised on wednesday mornings. I have lost 16lbs to date. Not too shabby. I have gone to family for dinner, gone to the city for dinner drinks and a show, went to Starbucks with my brother Marc, and have survived a week of being unemployed....and still have lost weight. I am determined to keep losing and keep up the healthy eating. I was going to stop the monthly automatic payments and decided against it. I am worth it. I will cut corners elsewhere so I can still afford to go to WW even on unemployment. I am proud of myself and want to keep up the good work. My 30th HS reunion is this July and I think I may go. LOL. I am working out again, and feel sooo much better, physically and emotionally. If nothing else, thats worth the 40 bucks a month!!

I'm not getting older, I'm gettin better?

Its really quite amusing when you sit and think about it. When we were kids, we would listen to our parents ( and that generation ) speak about things, saying to us " wait until you're our age" and we would laugh. Guess what? I am that age now. I am 47 and quite proud of it. I dont think I look as old as I am, I definitely enjoy life more at this age, and I dont think of myself as 47. In my daily routine, certain things remind me how old I really am. Last month I received a notice about my 30 year HS reunion. 30 Years??? Last weekend we celebrated my son Paul and my cousin JP's birthdays. Paul just turned 27 and my cousin will be 39 in a week. 27??? How can that be? He was just Paul4 for those of you who remember that year. He liked HeMan cartoons, micromachines, and cheese macaroni. Of course he still likes the cheese mac, but he has outgrown Care Bears and Topsiders. I still think of him as my baby, although I wont say that to his face and fortunately he doesnt read my blog. At least I dont think he does. I look at my neices and nephews and my cousins kids who all call me Aunt Michele, and ask myself if its possible I am that old now. No it cant be true. I look at my brothers who as of this coming may, will all both be in their 40's now, and think to myself, we were just kids. Even my cute little cousin Jeanine, who adored me when I was a teenager, is all grown up with a family of her own. I was at her house yesterday, as she was coloring my hair ( taking the grey out ) , and I playing with her youngest. It blows me away since I feel like it was yesterday I was playing with her like that. I have to admit, some days I feel like I am 97 not 47, after a 10 hour work day sorting and putting away deliveries, but for the most part I still think of myself as young. Am I, Are WE, getting older not better? Or are we getting better as we get older? I would like to think the latter is true, and until I have to believe otherwise, thats how I will think of myself. Its a rhetorical question so please dont comment with an answer ....I prefer staying in dark for now. I am practing for when the dementia sets in.

Only 360 days til.....

Wow! All the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and in a blink of an eye its gone. Christmas has come and gone and I am sad to see it go, yet somewhat relieved. I attended a party at my cousin Karens, which was alot of fun. I got to see her brother Bruce, my son and his gf came and I drank a few Chocolate Martinis. Bruce and I slept over so we didnt have to drive home which was a blast!! A Christmas pajama party for the over 40 crowd.HAHA. Then it was work and get ready for Christmas. Although I was finished my shopping by early October, I still had many things to do. For me, this year at my new job, I was fortunate enough to have wednesdays and thursdays as my regular days off. That really only meant I had more time at home to shop, prep and cook for Christmas eve at my moms. All went smoothly and I actually got to leave the kitchen a few times. We decided last year to do a cocktail party of H'or dourves instead of a sit down dinner. Mom seems to think its actually more work, but I tend to disagree, plus I love the different appetizers going out at different times. Paul ( my son ) came out and spent the evening with his girlfriend and moms hubbys family and kids were all here. It was a nice nite had by all. The next morning I prepared a few things and headed off to Ama's house, after a Lessard Crepe breakfast. The Lessards were all there in full force at some point and Ama outdid herself this year. Traditions were kept and new ones were made. We decided to do a Secret Santa this year which was alot of fun. We all had fun giving our gifts and seeing who had us. We even picked our names for next Christmas, I am finished my shopping now LOL. Months of planning, days of decorating, baking and cooking, wrapping presents and decking the halls are over. On wednesday this week my day off I will be taking down the lights, undecorating the tree, repacking the boxes and putting away the Christmas dishes until next November. New Years now was another story. I had come down with a cold and wasnt feeling well by New Yrs eve. I did some running around in the morning, did all my laundry of work clothes, and was in bed by 630pm. Medicine and exhausted from work, I was sound asleep at 1210am when my son Paul called to wish me a Happy New Yr. He asked if I was sleeping and embarassed I said " No, I'm sick" 47 years old and I cant even stay up till midnite for 2009! How sad is that? My brother Marc came out for dinner on New Yrs day with my neice and my sister in law. I of course cooked up a storm and we played Banana-grams. I was happy to see them but glad to get to bed since I really wasnt feeling well. My holidays are officially over for this year and I will look foward to the next one. They mean alot to me, the memories of Christmas past and the anticipation of Christmas's to come. As Ama wrote in a book for me " Cherish the memories, Keep the traditions". I cant wait to make more to cherish!!

On the Fifth day of Christmas....

my true love gave to me.....5 lbs of mexican white tiger shrimp, 4 - 1/2 cups of rum, 3 kinds of mushrooms, 2 lbs of chorrizo, and a pound of jumbo lump crabmeat. OK so my true love didnt give it to me. Its only part of the many foods I am prepping for Christmas Eve at my moms house. I worked about 10 hours today at work, stopped at the supermarket for a few herbs and some salmon roe, hit Starbucks for a Espresso Truffle latte and came home to cook and prep some more. People think being a Chef is easy stuff. Deciding and planning the menu, shopping and prepping the food, cooking and serving it, and then the clean up. Easy? Not so much. Satisfying and fun, yep!! Its now 1am and I have done all I can do for tonite. ( Well actually I want to do more, but for some reason I have an allergic reaction when I touch raw shrimp and my hands are red and itchy, so I am giving in for the nite.) I will be up early to get going. Too bad Starbucks doesnt deliver!!

Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward Men.

Only 1 week til Christmas!! whohoooo. I am ready or as ready as someone so anally organized as me can be. The gifts are under the tree, the cookies are all baked, the packages that need to be mailed are at the UPS store and the post office and I am exhausted. All thats left to do is go to a couple parties and cook for Christmas Eve and a few things to bring to Christmas dinner. I was inspired by my brother Scott in Texas, and I adopted a soldier. I sent him a card and a not so long letter of introduction a few weeks ago. I have now shipped out a care package for the holidays. I felt so good looking for a few things I thought he may like and things that were suggested by AuntNancyUSA blog site. I always have fun picking out gifts for people. I cant wait until he gets the package and hope it brings a smile to his face, if nothing else. Doing something so small and insignificant to most means the world to some people. I searched for the right card, something wishing Peace and Thanks, and I found one I was very happy with. I hope the soldiers who get to see it, feel what I felt reading it. I am honored to do something so small for someone doing something so big for all of us. Thank you Scott for mentioning it all on your blog. May everyone's holidays be filled with the beauty and spirit of Christmas.

Put your knives down......

Put your knives down....oh wait thats Top Chef. Just a quick update for all my supporters out here in blog land. I guess I didnt make it to Hell's Kitchen. The last I heard was that we would be hearing from the producers in LA if we made the next cut. They would give us a call and fly us out to LA for one last audition. I should have heard by the end of the second week of December. I just checked the HK site and the show airs Jan. 29 so.... Everything happens for a reason, I do really believe that. I think the audition and call back gave me a newfound confidence in my ability as a Chef. I was really hoping to get a call from LA casting, but it wasnt meant to be. I recently started a new job that I am liking very much. To go to LA for the show would probably mean quitting my job, unless they gave me an unpaid leave. I tend to doubt that though. Its a good position as I have blogged about and I dont think I would want to give that up right now with the economy the way it is. Althoughhhhhhhhhh.....if they had called I would have had to really think it over seriously. I am sure most of you ( and you know who you are ) would have encouraged me to go. Alls well that ends well. Maybe next season I will audition again. More seasoned and more confident!! Chef Ramsey is happily married anyway!

Back to the future?

Here I am, back to the future. At least my future anyway. I am once again gainfully employed. I am now the Sous Chef for a major food service company. I wont mention any names here but we are one of the largest in the country ( revenue wise that is ). I have been trying to get a job with this company since I moved back to NY from FL three years ago. I have always wanted a corporate position and I finally have one. My company is contracted by large companies, stadiums, schools, and prisons to name a few. I happen to be working in a school. The hours are better than any restaurant, I never work later than 730pm. Unfortunately, this school is a live in school so we are open 365 days a yr. The benefits ( healthcare, vision, dental, vacation, sicktime, personal time, 401k which they contribute to, and life insurance ) alone are worth any position with this company. Salary is competitive with yearly raises. Room for advancement is amazing and encouraged by management. Accounts are all over the USA and who knows in a couple years I could be the Executive Chef for a new account in lets say, Dallas!! I was told I blew away the Regional Director and the Director of Food services on my interviews and everyone was very excited for me to start. Its hard work as I run the kitchen and even though I come home aching, tired and feeling about 90, I really like it. Now my only worry is am I going to be called for Hell's Kitchen? Probably now that I am working. LOL. I just got an email on Thanksgiving telling me that the producers and casting in LA have not made final decisions yet, and hopefully we will hear by the second week of December if LA wants us to audition in person in California. Well, I am busy now working so I dont think about it much. I have read 2 books by Chef Ramsey and feel like I know alot about him. If I dont get called to LA, I someday hope to meet him at least!! Too bad though, probably wouldnt call me a fat cow at a book signing would he? I will post any update if I hear, but meanwhile- back to my future!! Its going to be a great one!! NO MATTER WHAT!