Buckle down, this is gonna be a long one...

Just a recap from my graduation, because I can brag about it. Graduating day I received a diploma from superior cuisine, a medal and a pin. But that’s not all. Since I completed both the cuisine and patisserie program I got a bottle of nice champagne, another medal and a huge, pretty, fancy diploma. I have received from 4 different Le Cordon Bleu schools (around the world) 7 diplomas, 3 medals, 6 pins, plus an award for being the top in my class. I even graduated with honors from my patisserie program. It was a great feeling to see what I have done in a year. An accomplishment.

The next adventure lined up was going to Africa for a month to work at a children’s village. I was in Tanzania, Africa, a couple hours from Arusha and about a 45 minute bumpy red dirt road car ride from Karatu. This was an amazing time and experience. I played and taught children, even disciplined when it was warranted. I even cooked in the kitchen. It was an amazing experience. I think everyone should try to go do it. Being apart of what they are trying to build is truly unbelievable. I don’t even know how to explain it, words and pictures just do not do it justice. You realize after being there what you truly value and maybe you get a little better understanding of yourself.

So then I jumped from the beauty of the mountains of Africa to the beauty of the ocean, the Bahamas. I spent some time with my family. Then dad and I went on a trip just us. It was wonderful. Hearing the sound of the ocean is soothing and gives you peace; at least it does to me. You almost forget how beautiful unspoiled land can be. I was blessed to experience it twice within a month and at such opposites of the spectrum.

I went home for about a month to relax and just do nothing. It got boring very quickly but I think that was good for me. It makes you realize just how much you want to work and do something you love or just to get a pay check! I left the beautiful land of Birmingham, Alabama to venture out to the mountain ranges of Colorado. Leaving home is never easy to do, but for some reason it was easier for me to do it this time. I drove through the marsh lands of Louisiana and hit the Lone Star State of Texas. I stayed here a few days to reconnect with old friends. The Freidlanders took me in for the night and feed me good home cooked food. The next day I went to see a friend from Le Cordon Bleu Paris, Beka. We talked for 2 hours and caught up on life and what we were doing now and where we were going. Then I went to see a friend from way back in the day, Paige Wolfe. I got to go out to dinner with her and her family (her dad, brother and new stepmother). It was great to see old friends and catch up with them. Early the next morning I drove to the pan handle of Texas, Amarillo, Texas. It was a long day of driving and I watched the temperature drop, from 70 to 49. It was rainy and cold when I pulled into the Hampton Inn for the night. But I got food and went back to the hotel to cuddle in the great cozy beds. Today was an easy drive and by far the shortest day yet, 6 hours to Denver, Colorado. I came from the flat lands of Texas through the hilly range of New Mexico and found salvation in the snow peaked mountain ranges of Trinidad, Colorado. I think my heart stopped because I was happy to see the mountains. I am staying here with a school friend, Cory McEwen and her boyfriend, Greg, for a couple of days. Then it is downward at a slight angle and to the left to Hotchkiss, Colorado where my new job awaits me as a private chef/hopeful gardener.

My journey is just now beginning. I think this adventure is going to be better then culinary school.