5 Point Update

It's been awhile so here is the update:

1. I started my new job at the country club 2 weeks ago. I work in the kitchen about 25 hours per week doing everything from prep for banquets and receptions to making the orders for the restaurant upstairs. It's a lot of fun and it is definitely the kind of experience I need beforing applying for an externship in the Fall.

2. I am throwing a bridal shower for my sister-in-law, Miss Laura Bonser, in a week and I have been having fun creating the brunch menu and organizing the day that will be filled with games and other surprises! She is getting married June 17th and I am her Maid of Honor!

3. Chris's mom is coming in town this weekend so we are looking forward to her company. It's been since Christmas the last time we saw her. It will be good to catch up and show her around our home in Austin. Again, I look forward to cooking for company. So far the dinner menu for Saturday night is: Spaghetti all Carbonara, Artichokes Clamart, and Peach Cobbler.

4. Last night I cleaned out my closest for the umpteenth time since we've moved here. I keep finding clothes that I don't wear anymore and other items that I'd rather give away than have them take up space in our apartment. Every now and then I get on my cleaning rampage where I just need to reorganize and bag up things we don't use to give to Goodwill. I might be the polar opposite of a pack rat.

5. Last week was my Spring Break and I went with a group from my church to Biloxi, Mississippi to help with a disaster relief ministry, Samaritan's Purse. We were only there for 5 days, but we worked on a house by putting up insulation and drywall. In our free time we got to drive around the city and coast and see all the damage and debris still there. In some parts of the city, it looks like it all could have happened yesterday. Other parts are looking better. We stopped in New Orleans for a couple hours on our way back to Texas. I'd never seen the French Quarter before and it was really beautiful. It reminded me of walking on streets in Europe.

What a Day

Woke up late this morning but got to school on time. Made all sorts of fried foods in class today. Had a margarita with friends afterwards at a nearby restaurant. Picked up the girls almost 20 minutes late. Headed to the apartment and tried to put Peyton down for a nap. Set Madison up with coloring and toys. Finally got Peyton down about 2 hours later than usual. Took a shower while Madi watched a movie. Felt good to be clean after a couple of days without a good washing. Dressed into clean chef clothes. Woke up Peyton while Madi jumped on the bed and I finished getting ready. Dropped off the girls and headed to my interview at the location of my new place of employment--Onion Creek Country Club. Took 2 hours, then headed home to my husband who I miss a lot these days. Ate dinner: Angel Hair with Tomato Vodka Sauce, Texas Toast, and Pinot Grigio. Talked. Laughed. Went to the Study to start on homework while Chris cleaned up from dinner. Blogged.

Pray for His Back

On Saturday mornings, Chris plays Ultimate Frisbee with a local group of folks in Austin. Yesterday he called and said that he had hurt himself. This is scary news when just a year and a half ago he had surgery on his back for a herniated disc. It turns out that he did throw out his back and he's pretty immobile right now. Hopefully it's not too serious. All day I tried to convice him that we should just go get him checked out to make sure everything was okay, but he can be stubborn sometimes. :) But I think he's doing better, and Chris thinks that he may have just strained some muscles. You can pray for that if you think of him.

I worked again this morning at Hope in the City, which is a church downtown. I work there on Sunday mornings for two hours just doing childcare during their services. I only work two hours each Sunday, but I love the kids and it's a little extra income. Tonight at our church, I'm actually working in the children's ministry, too, so I'll get my fill of the little kiddos this weekend.

I don't have class tomorrow! My Chef Instructors will be having a seminar, so we don't have to go to school which is awesome. For one, I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn, and secondly, I convinced Chris to take off from work. I hope that he feels better tomorrow because we were planning on going to Enchanted Rock State Park a couple hours away for the day. We're planning on bringing a picnic and just hiking around. The weather has gotten so nice here and we always enjoy getting away from the city. But it may work out to where Chris's back isn't better, so in that case, it will still be good that he took off from work so that he can have an extra day to recover.

For Momma

Haircuts #1 and #2.

As of Late

Praise the Lord, it's Friday! What a week. In school, we learned all about and cooked up a storm of all different types of sauces and soups. I've been bringing home different selections everyday for my wonderful hubby to try. School is getting better, as far as the stress level goes. I'm getting used to the fast-pacedness of it all and learning how to better manage my time and do a better job of my mise en place. (I'll just occasionally throw out some French terms for you to look up.) I am enjoying getting to know my friends at school and am discovering ways to connect with them so that I can eventually share Christ. What a wonderful blessing and privelege it is to serve as God's hands and feet. Last weekend I did the whole Happy Hour thing with some of them, and tonight while Chris is studying for his Perspectives exam, I think I'll drop by Elvin's for a little shindig/get-together that he's having for our class.

I'm in the process of job searching. I've been hired for a one-day job next Tuesday at the Palmer Events Center, working for Sysco, the food distribution company, for a food show. I will be the "Chef" of the booth for soups and salads, which is just perfect since I just finished the whole soup shabang in school. They provide the recipes and I bring all my equipment, and I simply cook, garnish, plate, and present to all the companies and businesses that will be there checking out what kind of products Sysco sells. I will also be prepared to answer any questions about the foods. I'm putting myself in a situation that I think will turn out really well or badly. Hopefully the latter. Also, I applied to work at the Chef's Association Conference in Houston next weekend. A couple of chefs contacted me because they needed assistance during their demos, but unfortunately I can't do it now because they need me on Friday, while I'm in school. It would have been another great opporunity. This afternoon I am going to apply and speak with the chef at Treehouse Italian Grill. Ideally, I would like to start working at the end of March or beginning of April, but that kind of depends on my current babysitting job.

Here's some pictures of my girls: Madi and Peyton.

That's what's going on as of late.