Martha Stewart.

This is the book I signed out of the library. I am SO excited!!!

Thanks to the magical Martha will I even need to go to culinary school after this?!

Food For Thought.

"Shopping for food is as much fun as buying a dress" -Julie & Julia

I totally, completely, and absolutely agree with the above quote! I LOVE grocery shopping, maybe even a tad MORE than clothes shopping. I've loved it since...forever. I remember when I was younger, whenever my mom would make the 20 minute trek to the Penner Foods -later turned- IGA -then turned- Sobeys, I would always tag along.

I don't know what it is. I'm in love with food, and eating, drinking, and tasting. Whenever I get my paychecks from work what runs through my mind is: After I pay my necessary bills for this week, how much money do I have left to buy groceries with?!

I spend hours grocery shopping. Going up and down each aisle meticulously, I take my sweet, sweet time. There's something fulfilling about glancing over each item, comparing prices, and realizing that yes, the cheap No-Name brand DOES taste as good as the expensive brand...or also realizing the unfortunate way that the No-Name brand of Garlic-BBQ sauce does not even come close to the classic Bullseye-BBQ sauce brand. It's all a matter of trial and error really.

I love food so much that in fact, each of my two jobs revolve around it...which explains why I actually love working so much.

Job #1: Orchard.

Five days a week I get up at 5:30 AM to make it to my 6 AM job on time. I LOVE starting so early because it means by the time 2 o'clock rolls around, I am done for the day! (Unless I have an evening shift lined up at my other job) So from 6-9 AM we are out in the field loading bins with freshly picked vegetables. The vegetables/fruits I have picked thus far in this current season of time are: sour cherries, black currents, red beets, golden beets, snap peas, snow peas, shell peas, green zucchini, yellow zucchini, spaghetti squash, pattie-pan squash, kale, dill, spinach, broccoli, purple carrots, orange carrots, white carrots, swiss chard, cherry tomatoes, chocolate-cherry tomatoes, tomatoes, ground cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red potatoes, golden potatoes, eggplant, green beans, yellow beans, purple beans...and off the top of my head that is all I can think of.

Then from 9-12 we are washing and weighing ALL of the vegetables we have picked for the day, except for the dill...I learned the hard way that spraying dill with water causes it to lose flavour. Who knew?

And then from 12-2 pm we are out in the fields either picking some more vegetables/fruits or we are weeding. Either of those I do not mind at all. Some people despise weeding; I find it rather therapeutic...because all you do is think think think. Think about that song in your head, why your co-worker somehow has waaaay more beets in her bin than you do, or reminding yourself -over and over again- that "forgiveness sets the prisoner free, not you, but me".

Job #2: Grocery Store.

Yes, I know what you're thinking: this girl loves grocery shopping THAT much that she actually works at a grocery store?! Hahaha.

Well, yes, your thoughts are true! I work at a grocery store, and I happen to love it. :)

Scanning hundreds of groceries through the till has more than enough benefits for me. After I complete my 6-month probation period I then receive a card which gives me a 10% discount on all of my grocery shopping. How fitting is that?! Also, everyday I get to see first-hand what's on sale, what's new in the store, and essentially, what looks yummy. On a side-note, after almost 2 months of working as a cashier, I have met the most interesting of people including a man with 38 piercings.

So that is pretty much my life right now, which explains the lack of blogging. By September I will need to look for another full-time job, as an orchard in Canada can only run in the summer months. But once February rolls around, I will be officially enrolled as a Culinary Arts & Design student!!! I am so excited!! I really have no educated clue on what to expect...will I like it? Is this going to take the fun out of cooking entirely? Will I come home crying every day? Will I attain fabulous amounts of culinary knowledge? Will I LOVE it? I guess we'll just have to find out!

After all this talk about how much I love food and cooking, I'm going to be lazy tonight and grab some KFC take-out with my hunny. Mmm mmm! :)

Europe.

If life here in North America fails me, I will make the move to beautiful Europe,

I will learn the language of {depending on where I live} either Italian or German,

and I'll work in a quaint little bakery, selling sugar-dusty Berliners and chocolate-banana crepes.

I'll take my baby-pink bicycle down to the bridge, park it, and feed the leftover bread crumbs to the birds.

My little flat will be just down the cobblestone street and around the corner to the left. And everyday my little white Scottish-fold kitty will be sitting on the window sill, waiting for me to come home.

❤ ❤ ❤

The Redeemer

Sometimes I just want to start over, 'cause everything looks like a wreck
And I need the courage to carry on, 'cause I can't see what's ahead
And there are places I've wished I could be, battles I've wanted to win
Dreams that have slipped through my hands
I may never get back again

But I'm still a dreamer, a believer
Oh, I've lost my faith in so many things, but I still believe in You
'Cause You can make anything new

Sometimes I just wish we could say all the things that are easy to hear
Ignore the injustice we see and explain every unanswered prayer
But I'd rather speak honestly and wear a tattered heart on my sleeve
'Cause in the middle of my broken dreams, redemption is here

And I'm still a dreamer, a believer
Oh, I've lost my faith in so many things, but I still believe in You
'Cause You are the answer, the redeemer
Oh, I've given up on too many things, but I'm not giving up on You
'Cause You can make anything new

I don't have every answer in life
But I'm trusting You one day at a time
'Cause You can make a weak heart stay alive forever
this is where Heaven and Earth collide
I lift my hands and give my life
This is how my weary heart stays alive

Oh, I'm still a dreamer (This is where heaven and earth collide)
(I lift my hands and give my life)
Still a believer (This is how my weary heart stays alive)
Oh, You are the answer (Oh, this is where Heaven and Earth collide)
(I lift my voice and give my life)
The redeemer (This is how my weary heart stays alive, oh)

'Cause You can make anything new
Yeah, You can make anything new


❤ ❤ ❤

Dear Friend.

Dear friend;

You don't read my blog, so I don't think you'll ever read this...
But, I miss you.

With summer here now officially here, every new day that I live, memories of the two of us a year ago keep coming back to mind.

A year ago we were texting all the time, knowing everything about each other, and indulging in our inside jokes.

We were taking road trips, beach trips, going out to eat, trying strawberry beer (haha, that was a one time thing...), and taking millions of photos together.

A year ago we were the best of friends, and now, we don't know a thing about each other.

What...happened?

Please tell me this is just a growing phase and that we'll get over it in no time, coming out as better individuals, because...I miss you. And I'm willing to do anything I can to make things right again.

Dirt.

Just another 8 hour day at the orchard.

I'm a farm girl; I practically grew up in the dirt...no complaints here! :)

Workie Work.

The month of May was one of many ups and downs...a roller coaster, really.

Up: Bought my very first car.

Down: My boyfriend left for the whole month to go back home. Long distance can really suck sometimes.

Up: I moved out of my parents house, into a condo with the two most wonderful women a girl could ask for (!!!)

Down: Despite having applied to over 20 jobs even BEFORE the month of May, no one was calling me back. I tried not to take it personally.

Up: I got a ton of reading done. Karen Kingsbury!! (Even though her stories are super unrealistic, they still reminded me of what's most important in life: Jesus)

Down: ...STILL unemployed.

Up: Worked on my Distance-Learning course and learned so much about the book of Hebrews!! I loved it!

Down: Because of the stress of unemployment and all the accompanying fears such as "I'm going to drain my bank account and I'll have to move back in with my parents before I know it!!"...I gained all my lost-weight back. I try not to care too much though...but it's hard when you remember how you used to be back in January, the fittest you'd ever been in your life!

In case you hadn't noticed, unemployment really took its toll on me. In past years getting a job was a total cinch! I would drop off my resume and get 3 calls from 3 different places the next day! Henceforth, I expected it to be the same this time around.

After applying to so many jobs, I got a phone call back from a job that I just KNEW was the job for me. It was a dietary aide position at a nursing home--full-time, best hours possible (6 am-2 pm), working in the kitchen, and daily interacting with the elderly. The interview went so well and I just knew the job would be mine! Days passed...and weeks passed. And eventually I let it sink in that the position was not meant to be mine after all. I find it funny how I so often think I know exactly what God has planned for me...but my mere human mind cannot even begin to correctly predict His perfect plans for me.

After I accepted the fact that the job wasn't mine to have, I applied at three other places I realized I hadn't yet applied. I immediately got a phone call from the grocery store, and I immediately got an interview at the orchard.

So here I am now, alternating part-time days at the grocery store as a cashier and at the orchard as a vegetable picker. Also, I have interview for an evening position as a waitress!!!

Here I am, just rockin' the temp jobs! And honestly, I love love love love it! I love my job/s, and I love working. Sure it has its sucky moments, such as when I can't find the customer's favourite brand of cigarettes on the shelf as fast as they'd like. (hellooooo do I look like I smoke? How am I supposed to know the difference between a tube and a filter and a carton and a pack and red and blue and silver and Paul Mall and John Players and Accord and 20 and 25 and king size and regular within my first few days of working?!)

Overall, what I love most about working at the grocery store is the constant interaction with people. I met a man who told me he had an autistic grandchild, I talked to a guy who had over 36 piercings all over his face and body (apparently 36 is not enough for him still!), and I LOVE my manager and co-workers. I also love the staff room, where we get comfy chairs and free food!!

God is just faithful to His promises. He knew one job wouldn't be enough for me, so he gave me a second one, and the potential for a third one! Thank you Jesus, so much for not only giving me work, but for giving me work that I love.

Twitter

I got a twitter account!! Actually, I had one back in the day when it first came out and then I deleted it. But now I'm back! And since I got a new one, I have only been on there once...oops!

Come follow me HERE.

:)

George Strait

Girl you've had one of those days
Seems like they've been goin' around
You're a long way from bein' where you wanna be

When the world isn't goin' your way
Whatever bad luck is gettin' you down
Honey, I'll be right here for you
With open arms, you can run to me

Baby, love's gonna make it
Love's gonna make it alright
Baby, love's gonna make it
Love's gonna make it alright
Tonight, tonight, tonight

We can go out and paint the town
We can dance your cares away
We can watch 'em all fall out on the floor

And if you want to we can close 'em down
And we can leave whenever you say
I'll chase you down the hallway
Watch the sun come up behind our bedroom door

That's the good thing girl about me and you
There ain't nothin' that lovin' can't get us through

❤ ❤ ❤

Orchard.

My brand new gardening gloves for my job at the orchard!

Who says you can't look cute while working hard in the land of the outdoors? :)